Ashes to Ashes
by Mell8
Summary: Voldemort wants the vampires. Dumbledore wants the vampires. Ginny the vampire just wants Draco's blood. Too bad for all of them that you don't always get what you want... D/G, pre HBP
1. Chapter One

Ashes to Ashes

Chapter One

By Mell8

--

Ginny:

I could see him across the street, lounging against a sign, smirking at me. He was surrounded by Muggle lights but still managed to hide in the dark. I couldn't make out any features. All I knew is that I was in major trouble.

I cursed quietly to myself, wondering what had forced me to go on a long walk to Ottery St. Catchpole at three in the morning. The Burrow was nearly three miles away. There was no chance of my getting home before the man caught up to me. Anyway, something told me that it would not be a good idea to lead him to where I live.

A gust of cold night wind blew through the street and I blinked. I gasped. He was standing on my side of the street now when mere seconds ago he had been much further away. I took a quick succession of steps backward, putting my back against the building.

The man's smirk grew and there was a flash of white teeth as he drew closer to me. This man was going to kill me.

He stopped walking and stood right in front of me, barely an arms length away. "What are you doing here little one?" he asked, his voice smooth and seductive. I just stared at him. My voice was captured by fear.

He held out a long fingered hand and smiled. "Come to me little one. I can make your dreams come true." My vision blurred and I had to blink rapidly to clear it. When I opened my eyes again I saw my hand rising of it's own accord. I struggled against whatever was forcing me to move against my will but it was of no avail.

My hand slid into his. I was lost.

With a sudden movement he pulled my body against his and tilted my head to the side. The man lowered his lips to my neck and something sharp pierced the skin. My life was to be taken by a bloodthirsty vampire.

I didn't even try to struggle. From what I learned in Defense Against the Dark Arts, vampires are much stronger than normal humans. Struggling would only have amused the vampire.

After a few minutes of loosing my blood my legs collapsed under me and the man was forced to hold me up. My vision was going dark as well. I was dying.

I didn't want to die. If I died I would never see my family again. The twins would never change the color of my hair again and Ron would never get to be overprotective. I would never taste mum's delicious cooking again. I closed my eyes against the memories of my loved ones. I didn't want to think about how much they would be hurt when they found my body.

Suddenly, the vampire dropped me. I fell to the ground in a boneless heap, jarring me out of my thoughts. I was too weak to stand.

Through my darkening vision I saw the Vampire lick his lips and turn away from my body.

"I don't want to die," I tried to whisper it but my mouth wouldn't work.

"Please," I forced out. "Please change me into what you are." My words were slurred by my rapidly failing body. "Change me into a Vampire." My vision darkened and my head hit the ground as I lost consciousness.

III

I slowly opened my eyes, fighting against the strong pull of sleep. I looked around and blinked. I wasn't in my room! My room at home had been painted a horrible florescent pink color when I was younger by my overzealous mother who thought all girls liked pink so why shouldn't I? The walls in this room were white. I slowly sat up and looked around. Why was I here?

Suddenly the memories of last night came flooding back. Why was I alive? I thought that the Vampire had killed me.

A door opened and two people stepped into the room.

"Ah, you're awake! Very good!" A soft voice filled the room. It was the Vampire from last night! I could see his features now, long black hair and equally dark eyes, but I didn't understand why as the room was still dark.

I gasped and backed up against the headboard of the bed. "There is no need to fear me little one." He smiled and stepped closer. "I am your sire and I suppose that in my own way, I'm to care for you." He walked up to me and sat down on the edge of my bed. "'Tis five in the morning, little one. You need to return to your home." He smiled slowly, an eagerness filling his body. "First, little one, I have brought you a gift." He gestured with his hand and the other person slowly walked forward. It was a human woman.

If she had any distinguishing features, I wouldn't have noticed. All I could see was the large purple vein running through the side of her neck. It pulsed with each heartbeat, a soft _thump thump_ that made me salivate, and I could almost see the blood flowing lazily along.

The vampire, my sire, chuckled next to me. He had noticed where I was staring. "This is your gift, little one. Please feel free to taste it. She's under my power and won't run."

As soon as he finished his sentence I was leaping forward. My lips found the girls' neck and my teeth easily pierced her vein. Sweet blood flowed into my mouth and I eagerly swallowed.

Five minutes later I was holding a dead girl in my arms and my belly was full of life.

I slowly licked my lips and smiled. There was so much power flowing through my veins. The girl's blood was mixing with mine and I could feel my vampiric powers growing with her death.

A soft laughing filled my ears and I looked up. "Did you like that?" he smirked. "You need to go home now, little one. My name is Dante. You may call on me if you have any problems. I will always be there to help you." He smiled and turned to leave.

"Dante," I called, a sudden question burning in my head. "Why did you make me into a Vampire?"

He smirked at me and shook his head. "I cannot tell you my reasons yet. All you need to know is that you are my childe and that makes you a very important vampire." With a quick blink of an eye, he was gone.

With a groan I sat up and dumped the body onto the floor. I suppose it would be best if I headed home before mum got up. As soon as I returned to Hogwarts in September I would need to do some major research on vampires.

III

Draco:

"Boy!" I shot up in bed, startled out of sleep by an angry voice. I quickly covered my surprise and nodded at my father, Lucius Malfoy. He was standing in the doorway, scowling. That was not good news.

"Father," I nodded cordially from my spot in bed. I would usually stand up to greet him, as was proper, but I wasn't wearing any clothes; something I was currently regretting.

"I have an assignment for you, boy. Get dressed and meet me in the formal study." He walked out of my rooms, a house elf closing the doors behind him. With a groan I got up. Whatever father had planned would not be enjoyable.

Five minutes later I was sitting on a hard chair in front of my father, sipping of a cup of tea. He had been staring at me from the moment I walked into the room, bouncing a piece of parchment in his hands. I had yet to hear what he wanted me to do.

"As you know the vampires are having difficulty choosing which side to join in our fight. The Dark Lord has been unable to coerce them into joining the Death Eaters." I nodded carefully. I had heard my father and various other Death Eaters complaining about the vampires many times before.

"Last night our Lord found out that the Master Vampire had created a young, school age childe. I offered your services to help find this childe." Lucius handed me the piece of paper and started pacing in front of me. "I am assuming that the childe will attend Hogwarts. Unfortunately, we are not exactly sure which magic academy the childe will attend. Therefore your friend Pansy has been sent to Beauxbatons and your other friends; Crabb and Goyle have been sent to Durmstrang. When you get to Hogwarts I don't care what you do. Abandon your schoolwork if you must, but I want you to search every child in the school. One of them must be the childe." I stared up at him in disbelief. My father, the person who agonizes over my grades more than I do, was ordering me to drop everything in search of a childe. How important was this fresh vampire to the Death Eaters?

I sighed quietly. "I will do everything in my power to find this childe."

Lucius nodded and walked out. My work would be cut out for me next year. I sighed again and walked to my room. I needed to prepare a way to find the childe before I got to school. Hopefully I could have the whole thing wrapped up before All Hallows Eve.

III

Ginny:

"Dante!" I called, running into his mansion late the next night. "Dante I need to ask you something!"

"I'm here little one." I looked up and saw Dante slowly walking down the large marble steps that ended in the entrance hall. "What do you need?"

I held out my burnt and blistered hand for him to see. "Dante, I put my hand out of the window this afternoon and my skin started to burn. Does this mean that I can't go outside anymore?"

Dante shook his head, guilt written on his face. "Ah little one, forgive me. Even for a vampire with my powers, one gets weak and forgetful after creating a new childe. It seems that I have forgotten to tell you a lot about your new existence." He shook his head and held out a hand. "Come little one. Let us find a place to sit down where I can tell you everything you need to know."

We walked up the flight of stairs and into a small sitting room on the right. We both took seats in comfortable chairs before Dante began to explain.

"You see little one, the elite race of Vampires, those that are the strongest, have a secret that must remain hidden from the weak. We have discovered precious stones." I looked at him quizzically. What did diamonds have to do with me burning my hands? "You see," he continued, pulling out a necklace as he spoke. "When put into a piece of jewelry and worn by our kind, gemstones give us power. I have a medallion made of lapis lazuli, jade and amber. Lapis lazuli symbolizes magical power. It increases my powers while I wear it. Jade helps with our physical immortality and Amber, the stone that you asked about, is made of the sun and protects us from its harmful rays. I have a ring for you that has all three gems and will give you the same power it grants me." He smiled and handed me a ring from his pocket. I took the ring and put it on. It was a beautiful silver ring with small stones around its edge in a pattern. "The silver represents the feminine nature of energy. It is better for women to wear silver," he added with a smile as I slid the ring onto my finger.

"What does moonstone represent?" I asked quietly, fingering a small locket around my neck. It was a birthday present from my family last year and if stones had powers, I wanted to know what powers my family has given me.

"Love," was the curt answer. "Never give someone moonstone unless they are family or they are your soul mate. Little one, I suggest that you never accept something made of moonstone from anyone else. I don't want you to get hurt." He sighed and shrugged. "Never take off the ring in sunlight. You will start to burn uncontrollably."

I nodded. "What about the blood lust?" I asked. Suddenly attacking my family was not high in my priorities at the moment.

He smirked happily. "Ah, I love the blood lust, the feeling of power that surges through you. The thrill of the hunt." He shook himself out of his revelry and looked at me again. "The blood lust is something that you will learn to control with time. I suggest that you eat near sunrise so you don't become hungry during the day. You should also learn not to kill your victims. When you get to school you need to be able to charm your victims into forgetfulness. Dead bodies lying around Hogwarts would not be beneficial to your current existence." He stood up and started walking to the door. "Come with me little one. Your education begins now. Tonight we hunt together.

I followed Dante outside with a smile on my face. The summer was finally promising to become interesting.


	2. Chapter Two

Ashes to Ashes

Chapter Two

By Mell8

--

Ginny:

I've spent two weeks at school and I have only one thing to say about my time here; the Gryffindors taste good! At least, their blood tastes good. Some of the male Gryffindors don't like to take showers more than once a week and their skin tastes awful.

The nurse, Madam Pomfrey, thought that a blood epidemic had hit the tower and was looking for the person who had dared to use the curse that drained so many students of their blood. Apparently anemia was bad. This meant that it was becoming dangerous for me to take blood from the Gryffindors. Dante had taught me a simple spell that healed the skin where I bit so the nurse didn't know that a vampire hunting was the cause.

But two weeks of the same exact way of taking blood was getting boring. I just found a lone Gryffindor, caught them in the power of my gaze, bit their neck, filled my stomach, and erased their memories. Boring! Tonight I was going to have a little fun! I'm going to find people outside of their houses after curfew and drain them. Plus, I want to practice everything I had learned at Dante's knee.

With a sigh I went to get my books for charms. I still had to wait for night to arrive before I could have a little fun. Until then I need to pretend that I'm still the little sister of Ronald Weasley. Being Ginevra- the Vampire of Hogwarts had to wait.

III

"What do you think Dumbledore meant last night?" Ron asked his two best friends as they walked together to Potions.

"He said that we are to look for a vampire around the school. If we find him we need to tell Dumbledore immediately!" Hermione replied.

"But how did a vampire end up in our school and why do we have to look for it?" Ron wailed.

"You're just afraid of vampires Ron," Harry said, joking around with his friend. "The big bad vampire is going to jump out in front of us any minute and will say "vet me drink your blood" ". He adopted his best Dracula voice for the last part and Ron laughed uneasily.

Hermione suddenly looked thoughtful. "Harry, do you think the blood disease that all of the Gryfindors got was really a vampire?"

"No, we would have seen fang marks in everyone's necks if it was a vampire," Harry answered, shaking his head. "Anyway, it's much more fun believing that the Slytherins are the culprits."

"Dirty Slytherins," Ron snarled.

"Dirty, Weasley? I think you would know dirt intimately. After all, your family lives in a pig pen with the pigs," Malfoy snickered from behind them. His large friends from Slytherin joined in minutes later.

Ron fumed, his face turning red.

"Leave us alone Malfoy," Hermione snarled.

"Oh look! Weasley's got himself a girlfriend. Maybe she can give you some of her balls, Weasley. You certainly need some." With that said, Malfoy swept into the Potions classroom, his friends trailing behind.

III

Draco:

I laughed quietly as I walked into Potions. I nodded politely to Professor Snape and took my usual seat. Luckily today would be a review class so I don't really have to pay attention. I had a lot to think about at the moment.

Surprisingly enough, it had been Potter and his friends that had given me an idea and a hope. When Granger had said, "He said that we are to look for a vampire around the school," in her snotty know-it-all voice, my father's dreams had come true. The childe I was searching for was definitely hiding around Hogwarts, which meant that I was the only one of those searching who has a chance of finding the childe and bringing him to Voldemort. My father would be very pleased.

Plus, the vampire had attacked Gryffindor Tower first. It didn't really matter that there weren't any visible bite marks, I was sure that the childe was either in Gryffindor or detested Gryffindors with a passion. It didn't really cut down on my large list of possible suspects but it was still some information about the childe. Tonight I was planning on patrolling around the tower. After all, what's the use of being a prefect if I couldn't abuse my privileges?

With a small self-satisfied smile I started to pay attention to the class. The fun would begin tonight.

III

Ginny:

With a smile plastered firmly to my face, I quietly slipped out of the Portrait Hole and started walking down the hallway. The first person I saw would be my victim tonight.

I needed to practice once in a controlled situation so things didn't get out of hand. Once I was sure that hunting on my own along the hallways of Hogwarts was safe enough to hide my identity I would start having lots of fun. For tonight, I was going to take the first person I saw.

"Going somewhere Weasley?" I froze and my smile faltered.

Okay, so not the first person. Maybe the second would be better.

"Sneaking out after hours. That's against the rules," Malfoy tutted behind my back. "To think, the littlest Weasley, breaking rules. Who would have thought?" I could feel him smirk behind me. I wasn't going to take this any more. With a snarl I turned around and walked up towards Malfoy.

Once I was less than one step away I pushed a finger into his chest. "You leave me alone." I poked him with my finger at every word. Then I spun on my heel and stalked off. Once I turned the corner I sighed. "Stupid Malfoy. Ruining my good mood like that."

"Like what Weasley?" he said from behind me. I jumped and spun around to glare at him. I had not heard him come up behind me. Either he was that quiet or I was that preoccupied.

"What do you want Malfoy?" I asked with a sigh. He didn't answer.

I looked up at his face and noticed that he looked confused. Could it be that he wasn't sure what he wanted. The stupid prat just wanted someone to bother. I guess I was the lucky one he chose.

"I don't really know what I want. You want to go to the kitchens with me while I think about it?" he asked with a smirk. I sighed and nodded. I guess going to the kitchens for a bit wouldn't hurt my feeding time.

We walked off down the hallway together. He still looked a little perplexed. Now that I thought about it, what had prompted Malfoy to ask me to the kitchens? What had prompted me to agree? My mind shrugged at me. It was one of those unanswerable questions in life, or in my case, afterlife.

III

I stumbled back up to Gryffindor Tower at dawn. Surprisingly, Malfoy was very good company. Once we had broken the ice, we had spent the entire night joking and laughing with each other over cups of hot chocolate. We had only stopped when Malfoy had looked at his watch and gasped.

"Ginny! It's nearly five o'clock. We should get some sleep before school tomorrow."

Now it was about five thirty and things weren't looking good. I wasn't tired. Powerful vampires don't need to sleep. They just need an hour to rest their bodies. I was in bad shape because I didn't have any time to feed last night. My stomach was empty and my veins were crying for blood. I had to hope that the blood lust didn't rise during school. I sincerely hope that my control was finally strong enough to suppress it. If I couldn't, someone would die with my fangs at their throat.

III

Draco:

The Slytherin common room was deserted when I finally went to bed for two hours of much needed sleep. Unfortunately, when I was lying in my bed, trying to get to sleep, all I could think about was how stupid I had just been. I had invited a Weasley to spend time with me and I had enjoyed it. I had actually laughed with her and it hadn't been my fake, all knowing laugh I used among the Slytherins. I had even smiled at her once instead of my usual cold smirk.

I had smiled at Ginny. I had smiled at the red hair that looked like it hadn't been kissed by the sun in years. I had smiled at her dark brown eyes that pulled my soul out with their beauty. And those red lips had smiled back at me.

When she had so innocently asked me not to call her Weasley I had eagerly decided to call her Ginny.

There was something about her that called to my soul; something that I craved and something that she was offering. I am going to take every thing that Ginny wants to offer and hope that she will take every thing I will be offering back. In the end, Ginevra will be mine! I am going to make sure of it.

III

Ginny:

School was difficult. I couldn't concentrate.

My body was screaming for blood. I needed blood now.

My head shot up from where it had been lying on my hands. I was in the middle of my last class of the day, Transfiguration, and I had dozed off in the middle of Professor McGonagall's lecture. I don't need to sleep so why had my body forced me to go dormant? I needed answers.

No I needed blood.

Luckily class was dismissed a few minutes later. The minutes had seemed like hours, every second ticking by as my mind struggled to contain the monster that shrieked for the life that ran through every body in that room.

_Blood_.

It whispered in my head, growing stronger as the time passed by. I couldn't wait until nightfall to take blood. I needed to find someone now. I looked frantically around the hallways packed with students and I knew that I couldn't take blood from them. Not right now where anyone could see. My body was forced to wait a few minutes longer.

I pushed open the trap door in the Honeydukes basement five minutes later. Ron had shown me the secret passageway last year when he realized that I was out of ink. He had taken me through the passage and out into Hogsmeade.

Unlike that time, when it had taken fifteen minutes to walk to Hogsmeade, I had used some of my new powers to increase my speed. I was still a little slower than I could be when I was finally able to harness all of my powers, but making the journey in five minutes was pretty fast.

I crept up the stairs into the store and found it crowded with people. The store was having a sale on huge blocks of Honeydukes' special chocolate and many adults had come over after work to stock up.

I walked over to the closest person and tapped the man on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, mister, but could you help me. I can't reach the box of chocolate on that shelf."

The man turned around and smiled at me. "Of course. Show me which box you want."

"This way," I called to him with an answering smile. I walked to the back of the shop and into a darkened corner.

"I didn't know that there was chocolate back here." The man shrugged. He was very confused. I couldn't help smirking. The man smelt like food.

"Look at me," I whispered, power filling my voice, forcing the man to comply. My brown eyes began to shine through the shadows of the corner as I filled them with enough power to ensnare my prey. "Bend down," I hissed. He knelt.

I pushed his head to an angle where I could easily reach his neck and placed my mouth over the large vein. My teeth pierced the skin with ease and when the first drop of blood touched my tongue I was lost to my surroundings. My vampiric side took over.

Warm blood rushed down my parched throat and filled my empty stomach. I could feel my veins fill with life and my powers increase to full capacity.

The man's heart beat frantically as he realized that his blood was being drained and he could do nothing to stop me. I drank every drop that spilled into my mouth.

Soon, his heart slowed. There wasn't much blood to pump any more. I slowly pulled away from the man and I licked my lips. The man fell to the ground in a boneless heap. He was alive, though just barely.

I pulled out my wand and whispered a quick healing spell that regenerated some of his blood and fixed the wounds in his neck.

With a satisfied smile I walked back to Hogwarts. The man had been a good snack. Maybe tonight I could get a full meal out of one of the unsuspecting students. I licked my lips in anticipation and I crept down into the basement of Honeydukes. Tonight I was going to have some fun and this time, Draco Malfoy wasn't going to stop me.


	3. Chapter Three

Ashes to Ashes

Chapter Three

By Mell8

--

Draco:

It was utterly frustrating! I had researched everything the school library had on vampires and none of the information had given me a hidden clue to the whereabouts of the childe.

I was now an expert on weaker Vampires. I knew what rumors were true and which were false. Hopefully that would be helpful in capturing him. At least I now knew not to go to the kitchens for garlic. Apparently there were some vampires who enjoyed eating garlic. Holy water might work, but it was highly unlikely that I could find any here.

I had just finished reading a book about the powerful section of vampires. They held themselves above the common vampires and ruled them with closed fists. There wasn't anything truly known about these ruling Vampires. The book had been filled with myth and legend. Since the childe I was searching for would definitely be one of the ruling powers, this wasn't very helpful.

There was only one known fact: There were two powerful Vampires in the structure of their society, the Master Vampire and his Childe. The Master Vampire would be the strongest and the prettiest of all the vampires. He would choose an equally beautiful and powerful Childe. When the Childe came into his power, the Master would either step down from his post as king, or his Childe would kill him and take the post by force.

My guess was that Voldemort had been unable to gain the support of the Master Vampire. Instead, Voldemort was going to capture the Master's Childe and force the Master to hand over the Vampires in return for the childe's safety. It was a brilliant plan. Unfortunately, the task of locating the childe fell onto my shoulders and I knew nothing about finding vampires.

I sighed and stood up from my table in the library. There wasn't much I could do without more information about the childe and vampires in general. Instead I would have to watch the students to see if there was anyone acting inhuman. Since there was no classification on humanity and most students acted like wild animals anyway, this was going to be very difficult.

I stalked out of the library and down into the dungeons. There wasn't anything else I could do about the vampires tonight. Instead I would try to get a little homework done. Then I would head to the kitchens for a late night snack. Maybe I would run into Ginny again.

III

Ginny:

I was lying in the prefects bath, submerged in foamy, chamomile scented water. I had escaped my dorm and had rushed here. The other girls in fifth year Gryffindor still carried a grudge against me from our first year. They refused to acknowledge my existence and snubbed me whenever they felt the need to belittle me. I had been avoiding them as much as possible. Unfortunately, I had to sleep in the same room as them and my clothing and other belongings were kept in that dorm.

When I had gone up to my dorm a half hour ago to get my things for a bath I had found my roommates going through my belongings. I had opened the door to find three of them crowded in a circle around my trunk, pawing through the new clothing and jewelry Dante had given me.

I had stalked over to them, slammed the lid of my trunk shut and had said, "If I ever catch you going near my things again, what you saw me do in first year will be nothing compared to what I will do to you now." Needless to say, the girls had scattered.

Now in a bad mood, I had stomped around the room gathering my bath things. I had stomped down to the prefects bathroom, snarling at anyone who dared to get in my way. It was really a good thing that I had fed earlier; otherwise I would probably have gone into a rage. I would have ripped out my roommates' throats before the first scream could be uttered.

I gathered a handful of the smoky red bubbles and gently blew them into the air. My temper was cooling at the same rate as the water I was reclining in. In another hour I would be fit for human company again.

The stupid girls hadn't been the only reason I was in such a foul mood. Two days ago I had sent a letter to Dante innocently asking what our rank in the hierarchy of the vampire powers was. I had just received a return owl before I had gone to my dorm.

Dante had written saying that he didn't want to tell me "for your own protection little one." He also warned me to avoid Dumbledore and the known Death Eater children at all costs. Apparently there were a number of people looking for me so they could gain the support of the vampires. It would be in my best interest to lie low while I was at Hogwarts.

Dante also wanted me to come home for Christmas break so he could continue my teaching.

I shook my head vigorously. If I kept going on this line of thought I would get angry again. I needed something to distract me.

As soon as I thought that the door to the prefect bathroom creaked open and a blond haired menace walked into the room. I smiled. Now I had the perfect distraction.

III

Draco:

There was a huge knot of tension between my shoulder blades from too much studying. I had finally finished my homework and I needed to relax. A hot bath in the prefect bathroom was the perfect cure for sore muscles. When I had gotten to the bath I had found it already occupied by Ginny. When I saw her, naked but with her body seductively hidden under the red bubbles, I couldn't stop a smirk from forming on my face.

"The little Weaslett in a public bath," I sniffed. "You dare dirty our water."

She scowled at me for a second before smiling at me. "If you want to join me just ask." She giggled.

"Wait a second," I snapped. "I don't want to join you in your bath. I'm merely going to take my own bath in the same water as you." I smiled down at her and slowly pulled my shirt off.

She froze and glued her eyes to my chest. I could see her gulp and my smirk grew in my face.

When I started to pull my boxers off she turned bright red and spun around to look away from me. I slid into the water with an audible splash and quietly swam over to stand next to her. The bubbles were covering my body by the time I got over to her.

"Bloody bubbles," I sniffed, startling her so that she jumped and turned around to face me. "You had to choose Gryffindor colors, didn't you?" I smiled slightly to take the sting out of my words. There was just something about Ginny that called out to the gentle side of me that only my mother had seen.

She shook her head with an answering smile on her face. "Actually, this is too dark of a red to be Gryffindor. I like the color because it reminds me of blood." She licked her lips and I laughed.

I reached behind her and her eyes got very wide until she realized that I was reaching for the tap behind her. Green bubbles shot out of the spigot and mixed with the red bubbles.

I leaned back against the side of the pool and sighed. "Perfect."

III

Ginny:

I slowly pushed green bubbles off of my body and watched Draco out of the corner of my eye. He was very confusing. We had begun joking around with the usual insults but had stopped when Draco had started to undress. I had frozen in shock. His body was beautiful. He wasn't the type with huge bulging muscles but his body was well toned and was great to stare at. When I realized that Draco was about to pull off his boxers I unfroze and spun around. I was having enough trouble controlling my vampiric powers. I didn't need lust to complicate things.

Then he had snuck up on me again! I could never seem to hear him coming, even with my enhanced hearing. And when he reached casually over me to turn on the green bubbles; that was really not a good idea.

He had given me a clear view of his chest. I wasn't about to complain, but still.

Now he was standing next to me, the both of us completely naked, and he was completely unconcerned. How am I supposed to deal with this, with him?

Instead of coming over to talk with me, like I expected Draco to do, he sank lower under the water and sighed.

"My shoulders are all stiff." He shrugged. "Too much bending over papers for my back to take."

I smiled and walked over to him. This was something I could help with. I gently began to rub his shoulders. Giving people back massages was one of my specialties. With all of the brothers I had who were constantly beating each other up, they would always come to me to massage out their aches and pains.

Draco had a large knot right in the middle of his back so I started to work at it with my thumbs. He groaned and leaned back against my chest. Our lack of clothing was quickly forgotten as both of us relaxed into the massage.

An hour later Draco was asleep in my arms and the bubbles were nearly all gone. I was also very hungry.

With a groan I hoisted Draco up a little so I could reach his neck. Unfortunately, he whimpered and twisted in my grip so I had so let him slide back down to the position he had just been in. With a sigh I grabbed Draco's arm and pulled his wrist to my lips. I bit down and took a couple of gulps of his blood. I was the sweetest blood I had ever tasted. After just a few mouthfuls I know that I could never have enough. His blood was rich with powerful magic though it was tainted by darkness in his soul. Also he was depriving himself of food and rest. I slowly let go of his wrist and grabbed my wand to heal the wound. I also levitated him out of the water and dressed him while I had the chance. I was going to take him back to his room and put him to bed.

III

Draco:

I woke up the next morning pulling my self from a dream where Ginny was the vampire childe I was searching for and she had taken a sip of my blood. I shook my head and smiled slightly. That would never happen. The childe would be a male that I could easily deliver to my father. If it were Ginny I wouldn't turn her in. In fact I would probably help her.

I shook my head to get away from those dangerous thoughts and started to get ready for the day. I had classes today and tomorrow I was going Christmas shopping. I should buy something for Ginny.


	4. Chapter Four

Ashes to Ashes

Chapter Four

By Mell8

--

Draco:

The weeks until Christmas had passed far too quickly. I had only seen Ginny a couple more times before I was forced to board the train for home.

I sighed. Father was not going to be pleased. I still had no idea who the childe was. The only information I could give him was that the childe was definitely attending Hogwarts. Hopefully I could escape the manor before father became violent.

I sat in my compartment, thinking of plausible excuses that my father would believe. I shook my head. I had no idea what to say to him.

III

Ginny:

"So Ginny," Ron asked as he helped me board the train home for Christmas. "Who's house are you staying at again?"

I smiled down at Ron. "A friend from the Village, Ron. She's home schooled."

My parents were going to visit Bill in Egypt again and Ron and his friends were staying at the castle for the holidays. I had been given permission to visit a "friend" instead of staying at Hogwarts. I was really going to see Dante so I could learn more from him, but no one else knew about my powers so I had been forced to lie to my family.

Ron hoisted my trunk onto the train and I smiled in thanks and ran off to find an empty compartment.

I had walked up and back along the train and every compartment was full! I snarled in annoyance. Why where there so many students going home for the holidays? I kept walking until I found the only semi empty compartment.

Draco Malfoy was sitting on one side of the compartment, glaring down at the floor. I quietly opened the door and stepped inside.

"Is the floor planning to eat you, Malfoy?" I asked. He jumped and glared at me. I just smirked and sat down opposite him.

We were quiet for an hour; just enjoying the others company before reality showed it's cruel head. After a while, Draco fell asleep.

I studied his profile with a small smile. He had rings under his eyes that told of little sleep and bad dreams. I wondered what he could have on his mind that affected him that badly? My eyes drifted down to his neck where I could smell his sweet blood pumping through his body. I shifted in my seat uncomfortably.

Since that time in the prefect's bath I had not been in such close contact with Draco. I blushed as I remembered his body and the massage, but there was something else that drew me towards the boy sleeping in front of me.

His powerful blood.

I felt my teeth elongate in my mouth at the thought. His blood had contained so much power and warmth that, even though I had only taken a sip, I had not needed to feed again for two nights.

My eyes fixed on his wrist, the one I had bitten the other night. A few more sips wouldn't hurt.

I gently picked up his hand and bit into the wrist. I took three large gulps before gently healing the wound.

When Draco woke up a couple of hours later I was on my side of the compartment, immersed in a vampire book. The train came to a halt at platform nine and three quarters and we both went our separate ways. I was very eager to see Dante again.

III

Draco:

I watched Ginny get off the train ahead of me and run off to hug a tall man. I looked after her quizzically. Who was the man she was hugging? It was not someone from her family, the lack of orange hair proved that.

I shrugged and went to find my father. What she did with her life should not bother me.

Yet, why did I have another strange dream of her sipping blood out of my wrist on the train?

I stopped thinking about that as soon as I saw my father's angry scowl. I had more important issues to contend with.

My father steered me into his study as soon as we arrived home. "Boy, why have I not gotten any information concerning this childe?" he snarled.

"I have sent you everything I have been able to discover. The childe is definitely at Hogwarts."

"But why have you not found this childe yet?" he screamed.

"Dumbledore has been searching for the childe as well. I need to keep my search hidden from his spies as well father."

"Dumbledore is searching for the childe?" Lucius snapped. "Well, that complicates things. Go to your room and let me think for a minute. I may have an assignment for you in a few days."

Sighing in relief, I quickly left father's study. I was not going to be punished. Now all I had to do was lay low until my father asked for me again.

III

Ginny:

Dante had met me at the station and I had run up to him to give him a hug. He had seemed surprised at first but had hugged me back just as warmly after his shock wore off. Dante picked up my luggage and led me to a car waiting outside in the Muggle part of the station. We were soon on our way to Dante's mansion.

I stowed my belongings in the large bedroom that Dante had fixed up for me and went to find him to ask what he wanted to do for the rest of the day.

I pushed open the door to his parlor and stepped inside. Dante was sitting in a chair with his back towards me and was talking to two other vampires. The vampire on the left noticed me first. He snarled and jumped at me with his super human strength. I dodged and let him run into the wall. He bounced back, stunned, and before he could gather his wits, I grabbed his arms in a choke hold Dante had taught me over the summer, and placed my mouth near his throat where I could easily rip out his throat if he struggled.

The other vampire backed off, trying not to force me to hurt his friend.

He looked up confused when Dante started clapping. "Very good, little one. I want you to meet your new instructors. This is Danny," he said pointing to the vampire that was backing away from me. I let the vampire that had attacked me go. "That is Josh." He pointed at the vampire I had just released.

He rolled his shoulder in annoyance. "Who is this little tramp?" he hissed. "How dare she attack a high society vampire!" His fangs were bared in a snarl.

"This girl," Dante said with a cold smile, "is my Childe and the heir to the throne of the vampires. I believe she outranks you." The vampires gasped and bowed low towards me muttering apologies.

Dante turned his back on the two bowing vampires and spoke directly to me. "Little one, Danny will be your protocol instructor and Josh is your new teacher on vampiric powers." He led up a hand to forestall my enraged outburst. Why couldn't Dante teach me himself? "I am forced to go to France for a week. There is a small uprising of vampires that I must control. When I return there will be a ball held in your honor to welcome you into the fold of vampirism. I want you to know everything possible about our people before the ball and, since I cannot be here, I have hired the two best instructors possible."

Dante bent down and kissed me gently on the cheek. "Be good while I am gone and please do not antagonize these two more than is necessary." Dante smiled and walked out of the room. His transportation was waiting for him.

I smiled grimly. The next week was going to be very difficult.


	5. Chapter Five

Ashes to Ashes

Chapter Five

By Mell8

--

Ginny:

"Good, now flip onto the pole!" Josh yelled up to me from the ground. I was currently standing twenty feet above him on one foot on a Muggle light pole, practicing my balance, jumping, and agility skills. I jumped off the pole, flipped forward in the air and landed neatly on the ground in front of my vampiric powers teacher.

He clapped and smiled brightly at me. After Josh had gotten over the shock that Dante had chosen a girl for his heir, he had wholeheartedly thrown himself into my training. Jumping onto the pole was only a small part of what he was trying to teach me. I could now make my victims forget that they had ever seen me without even needing to make eye contact. I could go for an entire week without needing to feed and I did not need nearly as much blood to sustain me. Living at Hogwarts was going to be much easier now.

I smiled back at Josh, glad that I had learned a new trick. "Shall we go eat?" I asked formally. My protocol instructor, Danny, insisted that I learn to speak correctly. He was also very adamant that my ballroom dancing reminded him of a stampeding heard of elephants. According to him, I lacked all of the grace that vampires were supposed to get with their death. I was learning, maybe I was not learning as quickly under Danny's tutelage than I was with Josh, but I think the main issue was Danny's lack of a friendly personality.

Josh nodded. "Show me how you use your powers to draw the victim towards you."

I nodded and walked off to find a suitable dinner.

When I returned to Dante's mansion where I was staying over Christmas break, I found a flurry of dressmakers. Apparently, Dante had ordered that my wardrobe needed to be expanded and everything needed to be hand sewn. I sighed. It was going to be a long night.

Another week passed and I excelled in my studies. Josh was adamant that I was the best student he had ever taught. Even Danny had grudgingly admitted that my knowledge of how to treat the different ranks of vampires had greatly improved. I was becoming a powerful heir to Dante's throne.

The entire mansion was beginning to grow excited now that Dante's time in France was almost over. They were not excited because their master was coming back home. Most of them preferred it when he was visiting another vampire den. They were excited for the ball and the social time they would have making treaties and alliances with other clans. I was happy because I wanted to see Dante again. Josh was happy because he wanted Dante to see how well I had done on my studies. The only person who was not looking forward to Dante's return was Danny but that was only because of the work it entailed for him. We were hosting a vampire ball to welcome Dante back so Danny had the privilege of perfecting my dancing. My dancing had gone from a stampede of elephants to one elephant falling off of a waterfall. I had to become an elegant swan in three days.

No, Danny was not pleased.

The days leading up to the ball either passed too slowly or too quickly for me. The preparations for the ball went by so quickly that I still was not sure whether my dress was green or blue, but my sessions with Danny were agonizingly slow. We went over the dances so many times that my head was spinning with the steps and my toes were hurting from constantly stubbing them against Danny's shoes. I am very sure that Danny's toes did not feel much better. I was not a light vampire and I kept stepping on his feet.

The ball was scheduled for tonight and Danny was swearing at me in a corner where he was nursing his toe. I had just violently stomped on his foot when I was trying not to stumble on the next step.

"The ball is tonight and you are unable to dance a simple waltz." He threw up his hands in disgust and limped out of the room. "I give up. Tell our master that I tried."

My only dance instructor was gone and I still could not dance for the ball tonight. I was in trouble. Dante was going to ask me to dance with him tonight and I was going to shame him in front of all of our subjects. I sighed angrily, grabbed the music and stomped out of the house. It was a beautiful, bright sunny day outside and the light dusting of white snow made the sun glare worse so I made sure that I was wearing my extra amber, sun protecting earrings.

I walked to a nearby park where I frequently found my victims. There was a small hidden spot where I could practice on my own. I set up the muggle music player and went into the starting position Danny had shown me. I began to follow the steps on my own. I held my arms out in front of me, pretending that I was holding on to my partner and I began to spin with the music to the waltz.

III

Draco:

Christmas break had never been so boring. I had spent the better part of my vacation sitting on my bed waiting for my father to tell me what my next assignment concerning the childe was. At dinner a few nights ago my father had mentioned that he had talked to the Dark Lord about continuing the search for the childe when Dumbledore's watchdogs were on the lookout as well. Father had told me that Voldemort was still deliberating on his next orders and that I was not to leave the mansion until I knew my instructions.

I had already exhausted all of the interesting things I could do in the manor. I almost wished that I had stayed at the castle for the holidays and suffered having Potter and his friends glare at me every second they could instead of coming home and suffering complete boredom.

I sighed and walked over to my huge picture window. The huge expanse of grounds looked the same now as it had the last time I had looked outside—about an hour ago.

The door to my room flew open with a bang and I quickly suppressed my jump of surprise.

My father strode into the room, a haughty glare on his pointed face. "Boy, come with me!" he snapped and spun on his heal before stomping out of my room.

I grumbled inaudibly but eagerly followed my father out of the room. Hopefully my father was about to tell me my orders and I would finally be allowed to leave the house.

We stopped walking outside of my father's best office and my father turned to look at me with an almost tender look on his face. That immediately put me on edge. My father never looked at anything, including his own son, without some sort of sneer on his face. The fact that he wasn't glaring at me was not a good sign.

"Now remember boy. You bow and kiss the hem of his robes when you walk in. Make sure that you end every sentence with 'my lord' and do not contradict his greatness in any way."

I know my eyes widened comically as my father spoke about proper protocol in front of the Dark Lord. That meant that Lord Voldemort was sitting behind the closed door to my fathers study waiting to speak with me. I hoped that my father took my shocked expression as eagerness and not as it truly was, total fear. I did not want to have a private conversation with the Dark Lord.

My father knocked gently on the door and opened it a crack. "My Lord, Draco has come to see you as you requested." My father pushed the door open wider and looked at me. I took a deep breath and walked into the room to meet my fate.

III

Ginny:

The sun was just beginning to sink below the horizon when something clicked in my mind. Before I had been putting my feet into the right places and forcing my body to flow after my feet in a graceless stumble that made me miss my next step and crush my partners' feet. Now I was able to make my body flow in one graceful movement that melted into the next without a flaw and most definitely without stepping on feet. It was very similar to using my vampiric powers. I glided gracefully from step to step in the waltz the same way I glided after my prey.

"There you are!" I jumped and spun around with my teeth bared in a snarl. Danny was standing in front of me with his arms crossed over his chest. "I have been looking everywhere for you! You need to get dressed for the ball. Even if you are unable to dance I will make sure that you look the part of our heir."

I sighed and shook my head at the seething man. "Danny, I can dance perfectly well. I promise, I will not embarrass you tonight." I smiled innocently up at Danny's glare and skipped off. The ball was going to be very interesting tonight.

III

Draco:

I waited until the door to my room closed behind me before collapsing into a gasping heap on the floor. Bowing in front of the Dark Lord and listening to his high cold voice issue orders was extremely scary. At least I could now leave the manor without worrying that my father would become angry with me. The Dark Lord had ordered me to continue spying even though it was Christmas break. Apparently the highest class of vampires was holding a ball to welcome their leader back from his trip in France and to introduce the Childe to the Vampiric community. Dante had graciously invited one of Voldemort's followers and one of Dumbledore's lackeys to the ball with the condition that they were not openly following their masters' cause. Voldemort had chosen to send me with the hopes that I would befriend the new Childe. The boy would be lonely among all of the older, more powerful Vampires and might be amiable to my suggestions if we were to become friends.

I had the sudden wish that I would see Ginny there as the Order's representative but I quickly brushed it away. Her family would never allow her anywhere near Vampires. I sighed quietly and rang for a house elf to bring up my Muggle tuxedo from the rather dusty box in the back of my closet. My Muggle clothing was never worn but this ball was Muggle style so I would have to sacrifice some of my dignity as a Pureblood and wear something Muggle.

I hoped that I would not make a botch of myself tonight.

III

Grimmauld Place:

"Listen Harry," Dumbledore frowned down at Harry and sighed when he saw the boy's obstinate look. "We really need the support of the vampires to be able to defeat Voldemort. Sending you to the ball will show the vampires that we trust them." Harry nodded gravely. "Remember everything you have learned from Miss Granger about vampires and if you find out who this boy childe is please try to befriend him."

"What should I do if the Death Eaters have a representative present?" Harry asked quietly.

Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a moment and smiled down at Harry. "All you need to do is take note of who the Death Eater is. Please do not antagonize their representative. The last thing we want the vampires to see is the Order starting a fight. Please stay calm and do not lose your temper."

Mrs. Weasley bustled into the room with a worried smile on her face. She went up to Harry and gently straightened his tie. "Fred and George will be waiting for you in the square. If you need to leave early go to them. They can get you out of Ottery St. Catchpole very quickly if you need to run." She bent down and enveloped Harry in a hug. "Please be safe Harry." She whispered before turning and leaving the room. Harry thought he could hear her grumble something as she left the room. "Vampires as neighbors. Honestly! They could have hurt my babies any time they were down in the town!" Harry smiled and shook his head. Mrs. Weasley was probably going upstairs to berate her husband again for living so close to a vampire home.

"It's time Harry," Dumbledore smiled kindly. Harry nodded and walked downstairs. He would be apparating to Ottery St. Catchpole in a few minutes. Then he would have to make sure not to make a fool out of himself in front of the most important vampires in the world.


	6. Chapter Six

Ashes to Ashes

Ashes to Ashes

Chapter Six

By Mell8

--

Ginny:

My dress was a gorgeous blue-green color with a fitted bodice and a long flowing skirt. I looked absolutely brilliant in it and I had to thank the dressmakers for a job well done.

"You look lovely."

I spun around and smiled at Dante who was waiting in the doorway. The maids bowed but I ignored protocol and ran up and hugged him instead.

"Welcome back," I smiled at him. "How was France?"

"The vampires have renewed their oaths to my service." Dante said with a cold smile. "Now about tonight. First I will announce you in front of a party of other high society vampires. They will bring gifts and you must thank them for every one."

I nodded. So far it seemed pretty straightforward.

"Then we will all go to the main part of the party where lesser vampires and humans are allowed. I have invited a representative from the werewolf pack to attend. I would like you to dance with him at least twice."

I nodded again.

"I also invited a representative each from the Dark Lord and the Order of the Phoenix."

Okay, not so easy. My eyes widened and I glared at Dante.

"Are you crazy?" I hissed. "My family is the Order. My parents and five of my brothers are in it. I'm friends with Harry Potter and I've lived in their headquarters!" I poked him in the chest with a hard finger. "None of them know what I am and I'd like to keep it that way! Plus the Death Eater that comes will automatically try to kill me because of my associations with the Order."

Dante looked shocked. "I hadn't considered your human life. I will admit that I have made a mistake." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Very well then. The only announcement that will be made about your heritage will be to the high society. The humans and the regular vampires may remain ignorant, if that is what you wish."

"Thank you," I said, relieved that my cover would not be broken.

"But you will eventually have to tell them," Dante continued. "When the war starts you will fight for the vampires and not for the Order, and when they ask you why you will have to tell them the truth."

I sighed sadly. "I know," I whispered. "I just want to be able to pretend for a little while longer."

"Let's get through tonight, then we'll have to have a long talk." Dante fixed me with a hard glance. I felt bad for ruining his plans for the night and I bowed my head in apology.

Dante waited a few seconds for me to feel properly contrite before sighing. "You'll do wonderfully tonight, despite what Danny has to say about it."

"Danny's mean," I grumbled and took Dante's arm as he led me out of the room and down the stairs towards the smaller ballroom where all the high society vampires were gathering.

"Danny's a perfectionist with broken toes," Dante corrected with a smile. "Are you ready?"

We had reached the doors to the ballroom and I had to take a deep breath before nodding my okay to Dante. Two waiting servants thrust the doors open and another servant pounded a staff three times onto a metal disk set into the floor that sent a ringing sound through the room. The room quieted at once.

"His Majesty, Dante, Master of all Vampires and Her Majesty, Ginevra, Childe of the Master of all Vampires," the servant with the staff called into the room in a loud voice that carried over everyone waiting.

Dante and I swept into the room and everyone bowed. Some bowed lower than others, depending on their station, but no one dared to look up until both Dante and I walked all the way across the room and settled into the two waiting thrones.

Dante's throne wasn't ostentatiously jeweled or covered in gold, neither was mine for that matter, but the wood was carved beautifully. No one would ever mistake the thrones for mere chairs. My throne was slightly behind and to Dante's left, where I could sit in a position of power but not eclipse the true Master.

"Madame LeMont," the major-domo announced. A woman covered in jewels and cloth of gold walked up to the thrones, bowed, and offered a wrapped gift to Dante.

"For your new childe," she said with a smile.

"Ah," Dante smiled back. "Of course. Ginny?"

Taking my cue, I gracefully stood and walked over to take the gift from Madame LeMont.

"My thanks," I said with a smile. "Might I say that your dress is simply splendid?" I added despite the fact that I thought it was horrid. Still, Danny had told me that compliments and well wishes about accomplishments were the best way to thank every single person for their gifts.

The woman twittered for a moment before bowing again and taking her leave. At Dante's behest I stayed standing at his side as Senor Usted was introduced. He handed me another wrapped package, I thanked him, and we moved on.

The gift giving time progressed slowly for me and I was quickly running out of polite things to say. There were only so many times I could comment on clothing or jewelry without sounding repetitive. Most of these vampires were old and powerful enough to see any blatant lies so I didn't even think of trying that route.

Then someone tried to kill me.

It wasn't a very good attempt, meaning that it was just a test of my powers rather than a wish for my death. I also thought the culprit might have been a servant, which meant it was ordered by Dante, but it was still a murder attempt all the same.

The knife came flying at me, point aiming directly for my heart. There were gasps from the watching courtiers, but no one moved to help me, not even Dante. One thing that Josh had made sure to pound into me during our lessons was that this was a dog-eat-dog world. In a Meritocracy only the strongest, the smartest, and the most powerful had the right to rule. Dante had fought many battles to cement his title when he first came into his power. Now it was my turn.

I thought about the best way to end this with the most fanfare. I needed to use this opportunity to show these high society vampires that I was powerful enough to be the ruling Childe. That was probably why Dante had engineered this attack.

I pretended nonchalance and continued speaking to Mr. Blake about his accomplishments with putting down a possible vampire uprising in Brussels. I could see the man glace at the knife as it quickly made its way towards my heart.

Just milliseconds before the knife would have impacted, my free hand reached up and plucked it out of the air. I quickly slid it into a sheath hidden inside my dress, all while not interrupting my conversation.

I could feel Dante's admiration from next to me. I could also see some shuffling from the courtiers. A little thing like a deadly knife couldn't even faze me. Most young childes would have flung themselves into a flurry of motion to stop the knife, thereby interrupting court and causing a scene. I hadn't, which set me apart from everyone else.

The session finally ended and as the court filed out towards the larger ballroom, Dante stood next to me.

"Well done, little one," he said with a smile. "Now, let's get through the rest of tonight and everything should be okay.

III

Draco:

I nervously straightened my jacket and carefully resituated my cufflinks as I waited in a large, opulent ballroom. Harry Potter was across the room looking smug and superior in his ill fitting suit. The idiot wasn't even dressed appropriately and he didn't seem to realize that he and I were the only two humans in the room. The place was filled with vampires and one werewolf. They were all lesser vampires who still had enough power to be invited to this occasion, and a representative from the werewolf pack, just as Harry and I were representatives of our own factions.

I suddenly noticed the lesser vampires bowing and scraping as the doors opened and a new group of vampires emerged. These must be the high society vampires that no one knew anything about except for those vampires themselves.

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to bow, but I figured that my status as a diplomat from another political faction gave me some immunity. I nodded my head politely to those who acknowledged me and waited to see the childe when he emerged.

The leader of all vampires strode into the room with no one at his side. He was essentially a king so I took care to bow with everyone else, and I couldn't help smirking when I saw Potter blinking around stupidly, as if wondering why everyone was suddenly groveling. I carefully looked around to see if anyone, aside from Potter, wasn't bowing as lowly as they should. That person could be the childe because protocol gave the heir a less affected bow. As everyone rose back to their full heights I still hadn't found this childe.

Suddenly Ginny was standing beside me.

"Draco?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

I couldn't help wondering the same thing about her. Potter was here as a representative of the Order so Ginny must be here in another capacity. But I had been sure that he and I were the only two humans… Did that mean that Ginny wasn't human and was therefore a vampire? She was school age and had certainly been human the previous year. That meant that she had recently been bitten, and it also meant that she was someone's childe in this room of vampires.

What if… but that was preposterous. The Master's childe was always a male. Why would he break tradition? Still, if the childe was a girl and everyone searching for her had been searching for a boy, she never would have been found. It was a brilliant way of hiding the childe in plain sight.

"My father and the Dark Lord sent me as a representative of the Death Eaters," I said with a sneer, telling her just what I thought of those orders. "I didn't have a choice."

"So you're the representative of the Death Eaters but you're not a Death Eater yourself?" she asked curiously. I thought about lying or saying something to make myself look good, but if she was the childe I didn't dare. I liked Ginny and I had already promised myself that I would protect her. Why should any of that change just because of what she had become.

"I don't ever want to become a Death Eater, but that's not something you can tell my father or his Lord if you want to stay alive. So I'm here on their behalf," I answered wryly.

She nodded and then started craning her neck around the room. "Who did the Order send? Potter?" she gasped when she caught sight of his unruly head of hair. "Why the heck would Dumbledore send Potter? Doesn't he know that Harry's socially inept? He'd make a fool out of them in five seconds."

"I'd give him two," I mumbled. She heard me and laughed.

"Generous of you. Well, I should probably go say hello."

I stopped her with a hand on her arm before she could walk away.

"Ginny," I began hesitantly. "If his orders are in any way similar to mine, he'll be looking to identify the childe," I looked at her pointedly, "and will be bringing that information back to Dumbledore so that they can try to use you in their plans."

"Those are your orders?" she said to me sharply, clearly getting the fact that I had figured out that she was the childe.

I smirked at her. "Well, they are… but there was no formal announcement made and the Master of Vampires walked into the ballroom on his own. At my best guess they were trying to hide _his_ identity from both Potter and me. Of course, I kept my eyes open and have some suspects that I will be investigating further, but I'm afraid that will have to wait until I return to school so I can get close to them to find out the truth."

She laughed and kissed me on the cheek in thanks. The musicians had taken their spots by now and the dance floor was filling as the vampires prepared for the first dance.

"I'll talk to Harry as soon as I figure out a good cover story," she said with a smile to me. "I've got to find Dante for the first dance, so I'll see you later."

"Of course," I murmured as she spun away.

I would be keeping a close eye on her all night. She hadn't denied that she was the childe, so my guess was probably true. Still, I had promised to protect her. If Potter started to suspect then I would be nearby, ready to "accidentally" start something with him to throw him off the scent.

There was already so much going on and the night was just beginning! I sighed and moved to the side of the room to get out of the way of the dancers. Ginny twirled by on the same man's arm that I saw greet her at the train station, the man who I now knew to be the Master. I filed away that information for later use and settled in for a long wait.


	7. Chapter Seven

Ashes to Ashes

Chapter Seven

By Mell8

--

Ginny:

The moment I stepped into Dante's arms for the first dance I saw Danny wince and turn his head away. Then the music started and Dante and I floated along with all the other dancers. I moved just as gracefully as Dante as we glided from step to step. Danny's wince turned into a look of astonishment.

"You dance much more proficiently than I had been warned," Dante said when he caught Danny's disbelieving stare.

"I figured it out," I murmured with a sullen look for Danny. "Danny only had time to teach me the steps for the waltz though," I added with a worried look at the musicians. I doubted they would stay with the tame waltz for too much longer.

Dante said, "I'll mention it to the musicians," in a wry voice at the same time as a nearby low society vampire couple sneered at me.

"Who is she to speak of our second in command as if he were a mere commoner!" the woman gasped in a voice that was far too loud to just be meant for her partner's ears alone.

I leveled a glare at Dante. He had told me their names were Danny and Josh. How was I supposed to know they had titles and that I was being terribly rude by not using them?

"Ah," Dante said delicately. "Danny and Josh have been my close confidants for nearly three hundred years. I suppose my familiarity with them might have effected how I introduced them to you."

"Might have?" I grumbled.

"Oh, alright, did effect. Anyway, Danny's real name is Danton and he's considered to be my second in command. Josh's real name is Joshua and he's my third in command."

"Thanks for telling me," I said wryly as the dance came to an end.

"Of course," Dante said as he released me with a bow as I curtseyed. "Now, the representative for the werewolves is in the corner to your right," Dante said as he pointed out a burly brown haired and bearded man. "The next dance should be a waltz as well so have fun."

I danced with Jimmy the werewolf and we had a pleasant if meaningless conversation. I easily promised him another dance but was forced to leave him at the end of this one because of Harry. As the last notes of the waltz came to a close Harry finally caught sight of me and, of course, nearly had a fit.

"Sorry," I apologized to Jimmy. "If I don't got over to him now he'll make a scene and ruin the night for everyone." I pointed out Harry to him and when Jimmy saw Harry's reddening face he laughed and let me go.

"Harry," I called gaily as I made my way over to him. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here Ginny?" he snarled. "You weren't invited!"

"Oh, Harry," I said with a shake of my head. I had decided to tell him an edited version of the truth but with an emphasis on pacifying him. "Of course I have an invitation. I certainly couldn't be here without one! Remember how I was visiting a friend in Ottery St. Catchpole, well here I am."

"You're staying with the vampires?" Harry gasped incredulously.

"Harry!" I laughed. "I'm sure the vampires invited some locals. Luna might have been invited if she hadn't decided to stay at school for break." Yes, they invited some local _vampires_ and 'might' had a strong leaning towards, 'no, not really', but Harry didn't need to know that.

"Your mum's going to have a canary!" Harry said worriedly.

"She won't if you don't tell her," I said sharply. "Harry, obviously the vampires are on their best behavior tonight," they were, "so I'm not in any danger by being here." I wasn't. "If you tell mum she'll go bonkers. Let her believe that I'm not anywhere near the vampires. It'll be safer for everyone around her."

"Weasley, a pleasure," Draco's voice came from behind me. Harry scoffed, clearly thinking that Draco was being sarcastic and rude. I was just happy that something had come along to distract Harry from our conversation.

"Malfoy, how are you?" I answered back as I turned away from Harry to face Draco.

"I would certainly be much better if you danced with me," Draco replied as the music changed to something unrecognizable.

I winced. "Ah, Draco," I started slowly. "I have to admit that I don't know the steps to this dance."

"But I do know them," Draco said with a smirk. "It'll be okay."

He took my hand and led me away from a spluttering Harry onto the dance floor. Draco quickly showed me how to hold my hands for this new dance and swept me into the movements. He was kind enough to murmur the steps to me so I could be prepared when he would suddenly turn me in a graceful spin or a dip. The dance would have been smoother if I had known the steps but we certainly didn't make a poor showing of ourselves. Dante certainly seemed impressed when he greeted Draco at the end of the dance.

III

Draco:

"You and Ginevra dance quite beautifully together," Dante said with a curious look towards me. He was clearly wondering what my connection to Ginny was, but since neither of us could tell him in public, the Master Vampire would just have to wait.

"Thank you, Master," I said with a polite bow. "But Ginevra is quite wonderful as well."

The Master laughed. "You are the representative for the Death Eaters, are you not?" he asked.

"I am," I replied with a grimace. "Not by choice, however," I added with a sidelong glance at Ginny. I couldn't keep my smirk off my face when I saw Potter bowing gracelessly to Ginny while glaring at my back. He was clearly trying to ask her to dance in retribution for me daring to dance with her as a simple waltz started playing.

Ginny accepted but I could see reluctance in her steps as she joined him on the floor. They started twirling and Ginny was polite enough not to say anything as her toes were immediately assaulted. Apparently Potter had never gotten beyond those basic lessons Hogwarts had taught us for the Yule Ball all those years ago. He was certainly making a poor showing of himself here.

"Not by choice?" the Master asked as he led me to a refreshment table where glasses of blood and wine, for the two humans and any daring vampires, were set out. The Master took a glass of blood and I took a glass of wine.

I quickly explained what I had told Ginny about my father and the Dark Lord thinking I was loyal. "But Ginny and I have been friends for a while. I would hate to turn her in to the Dark Lord to get tortured."

"You and Ginny have a bond?" Master asked.

"I suppose," I replied and then took a sip of wine contemplatively. "You would have to ask her for the absolute truth, but I believe she has bitten me a couple of times."

Another waltz began playing and when I looked for Ginny I saw that she had somehow escaped Potter and was dancing with the werewolf representative again.

The Master and I continued to chat amicably about rather aimless subjects, often lapsing into comfortable silence as we drank from our glasses. When the current dance ended the werewolf gently guided Ginny over to the refreshment table where he and the Master pulled away to have a private conversation.

Ginny laughed and took a glass of blood from the table.

"Having fun?" I asked her with a grin.

"I guess," she answered. "I'm still used to Quidditch being the highlight of my entertainment. This ball and dancing is a bit much for me."

"Well," I said with a smile. "I'm pretty sure that the last dance of the night is next. You won't have to be here much longer."

She laughed and looked impressed with my knowledge as the Master came over to ask her for the last dance, just as the final waltz started to be played.

"Goodnight, Ginevra," I said as I bowed over her hand. "My thanks for inviting me," I added to the Master who nodded politely to me before taking Ginevra to the dance floor. I was going to leave now before Potter could corner me and make yet another scene.

III

Ginny:

Draco left but I knew I would be seeing him soon in school. Still, I couldn't help watching his retreating back as he skillfully avoided Harry and escaped. I was a little sad that my friend was leaving. However, I was even sadder than I hadn't gotten a sip of his blood tonight. That would have to wait until school, I guess.

"He is special to you," Dante asked quietly so that the music would cover our conversation.

"He is," I answered truthfully. "We are friends and I like his personality."

"His looks aren't too poor either," Dante said knowingly.

I blushed. Yes, Draco was certainly very handsome with his short blond hair and deep gray eyes.

"His blood," I whispered, hoping to throw Dante off from commenting about my telltale blush. "His blood is amazing. It's so powerful and one sip can satisfy me for a very long time."

Dante looked shocked but covered it by leading me up to the dais as the waltz ended. Draco had left and Harry had gone after him, clearly not comfortable staying when his enemy had gone. Dante clearly considered it safe to announce me.

"I must thank you for attending tonight's ball," Dante said as the waiting vampires gazed up at him. "My childe, Ginevra, and I hope you enjoyed yourselves."

The low society vampire who had scoffed at me earlier in the night gasped and paled when she recognized me.

Dante nodded politely to the crowd and I echoed his nod. They bowed to us as we took our leave for the night.

I followed Dante out of the ballroom and upstairs to his enormous room where a pile of presents lay waiting for me to open. I couldn't help giggling in anticipation and Dante let out a chuckle of his own as paper and ribbons started to fly.

III

Harry looked up at Dumbledore with a worried expression on his face. "I couldn't figure out who the childe is," he said with a shake of his head. "He was never announced and I didn't see anyone who as given special treatment."

"You couldn't find anything, Harry?" Dumbledore asked one last time. He had already heard Harry's recollections from the night, which were sparse and were mostly filled with Draco Malfoy's annoying presence.

"Well," Harry hedged; wondering if telling Dumbledore about Ginny would be just as bad as telling Molly Weasley. Dumbledore was certainly more grounded when it came to things like this, and he certainly wouldn't tell Mrs. Weasley about it. Harry decided that it would be okay.

"Ginny was there," Harry said to Dumbledore's surprise.

"Ginny Weasley?" Dumbledore clarified.

"Yeah. She said that the friend she's staying with over break got an invitation and took Ginny along. Except, Ginny kept dancing with Malfoy! She was being really weird about me being there too."

Dumbledore nodded and let Harry go off to sleep. Unlike Harry, Dumbledore had years of experience in dealing with subterfuge. It had occurred to him as Harry spoke that the childe of the vampires might not be male, as was tradition.

He would be having a conversation with Miss Weasley very soon.

III

Draco didn't bother trying to find his father when he returned to the Manor. A house elf had immediately gone to find Lucius so Draco new he would be summoned eventually, but only at his father's convenience.

Instead of waiting up, Draco went to sleep. He figured that he probably wouldn't be having a good break from here on so he might as well get a little sleep now, when he had the chance.

Bringing nothing except a few theories back from a mission where he was supposed to have found out everything would certainly bring punishment. His only consolations were the facts that, one, Potter certainly hadn't figured out who the childe was and, two, break ended in only a few days. His punishment couldn't be too long or he would miss school. Lucius wouldn't dare keep him away from school and the only place where he could continue his investigations.

When the house elf came for him Draco was deeply asleep, dreaming of Ginny and her sharp, yet beautiful, teeth.


	8. Chapter Eight

Ashes to Ashes

Chapter Eight

By Mell8

--

Ginny:

I found Draco on the train after carefully avoiding Harry, who was taking the train back to Hogwarts despite not having taken it from the school.

To be nice, I would say that Draco looked terrible. If I were being truthful, I would have to say that Draco looked like he hadn't eaten since the ball and had been tortured as well. I wasn't far off the mark.

"Ginny?" he said as he looked blearily up at me.

"Shh," I whispered, immediately feeling bad for waking him up at my entrance to the compartment. "Go back to sleep." I slid into the space beside him and let Draco rest his head on my chest. He fell right back to sleep and I gently stroked his hair to comfort him. Whatever his father and Voldemort had done in retribution for him not turning me in must have been horrible. Draco shouldn't have to go back there. I would have to ask Dante about inviting Draco to say at the mansion during the summer so Draco wouldn't have to go home.

When the train reached Hogsmeade station I gently woke Draco. He seemed much more alert after his long nap, which made me very relieved.

"Thanks," he said with a smile. He helped me get my trunk and we went our separate ways as we left the compartment. Draco still had to pretend that he didn't know me and I still had to be the good Weasley girl who wasn't a vampire. Sometimes I couldn't wait for when my secret got out. It would be so much easier to spend time with Draco. But then I thought about all the ways where it wouldn't be easier and let it go.

The welcome back speech that night was boisterous as everyone eagerly talked about their vacations and their Christmases. I waited for Harry, Ron, or Hermione to turn to me to ask about my vacation and was rewarded when Ron finally noticed I was sitting right next to him.

"So, Ginny," Ron said as he reached past me for more rolls. "How was your stay at…who's house were you staying at?"

"Just a friend in the town," I replied dismissively. "We had fun! We went shopping and I did my nails," I said while holding out my hands to show him my shiny pink nails. One of the maids had done them as a going away present from her. She was one of the nicer servants in Dante's mansion.

Ron hummed in agreement, not really interested in nails or clothes.

Hermione smiled though. "That sounds like fun. Ron and I played a lot of chess and Harry went to headquarters for a while. It was a bit boring but relaxing."

"That doesn't sound bad," I agreed. "Thanks for the book, Hermione," I added when it looked like we were running out of things to say.

"Oh, good. I wasn't sure if you would like it. They just don't teach defense against dark creatures any more, not since Lupin left anyway."

"It's wonderful. I've already read half of it." I'd read half of it and laughed at the completely fabricated entry on vampires with Dante and Josh. It had been quite fun.

The food vanished then and everyone began standing up to head off to bed. I wasn't tired in the least; I had fed well before the train ride. Instead of following the rest of the Gryffindors to their Common Room, I slipped away.

I wandered the halls for a while; exploring places I had never been before. There were all sorts of things that had been left behind and forgotten in classrooms and storerooms years ago and it was interesting discovering everything.

I didn't expect Draco to be about. He needed his sleep after the hell he had gone through for the past week so there was no way he would be awake this late. I wasn't lonely though. My wanderings kept me amused enough.

I was exploring some ancient classrooms on the seventh floor when Dumbledore found me.

"Miss Weasley, if I might have a word?"

"Of course, Professor," I said as she stood from a trunk filled with old schoolbooks, wondering why he wanted to speak with me. If he had been upset with me wandering around the castle after hours he would have mentioned it already.

I followed him the short distance down the hall to his office. Dumbledore didn't speak until we were comfortably seated in his office.

"Miss Weasley, I wish to tell you that I know you are a vampire," he said gently.

"Ah," I said, worried what else he knew. There was no reason to try and hide the truth from him. If he knew what I was and was willing to admit it to me then he had facts to back it up.

"I am guessing this part," Dumbledore admitted, "but I am also assuming that you are Dante's childe."

I didn't say anything. Refuting it would only give Dumbledore more ammunition to fight me with and accepting it would simply confirm everything. Instead I stayed silent and let Dumbledore take the truth from that.

"Over the past few months at school you haven't harmed any students. A little blood loss among the Gryffindors isn't a terrible thing." Dumbledore smiled at me, clearly trying to entice me to feel comfortable with him. "Therefore, I have no problem with you staying in school with the other students."

"How nice of you," I said dryly.

Dumbledore smiled. He clearly saw that I was seeing right through his attempts at kindness.

"I have to ask," Dumbledore continued. "If you are as I believe you to be, Dante's childe, then must ask for your support against Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

"If I were as you suspect, I would expect you to ask such a question," I answered blandly.

"And if our shared assumption is correct then you would understand my worry to hear that you have been spending quite a bit of time with Draco Malfoy. The Death Eaters are our enemies, Miss Weasley, and I would hate to hear that you and the vampire community were siding with them." Dumbledore didn't take his sharp eyes off of me as I searched for an answer.

"That would be making quite a few more assumptions," I said finally. "First, the assumption that I am Dante's childe, second, the assumption that I have been spending enough time with Draco Malfoy to worry you, and third, the assumption that by spending time with a friend I am automatically throwing my lot in with the Death Eaters."

Dumbledore waited for me to elaborate after he had taken in what I had just said. His eyes gave away nothing but his intensity of his stare grew.

"I am going to take for granted the idea that you will not pressure me into anything your side wishes for so let me assuage some of those assumptions. The first assumption I will tell you is the truth. I am Dante's childe and you are the only one in the Order of the Phoenix who knows. I haven't dared tell my family. Can you imagine what mum would do?" I laughed and shuddered at the thought. My mum would go crazy.

"Your second assumption and third assumption are intertwined so I will answer them together. Draco and I are friends and have been for a while. His job in school this year was to find me and report back to his father. Instead Draco has been protecting me from both his father and Lord Voldemort, a position that has caused him quite a lot of pain.

"Now that you know that Draco is not a Death Eater you know that by spending time with him I am not aligning myself with the Death Eaters. Now that you know what I am doesn't mean that I am going to align myself with the Order. I enjoy sitting in the middle and I expect you to respect that."

"I would hope that you would side with your family. They are all fighting for the Order," Dumbledore cajoled. He was clearly trying to get me to break and side with him. If that meant putting my family on the playing field then so be it. I wasn't going to break.

"They make their own decisions based on what's best for them. I make my decisions based on what is best for my people," I replied as I stood from my chair. I had had enough coaxing from the Headmaster and really didn't want to hear any more. "If something changes and the vampires see the need to join with the Order, you will hear from me."

I almost made it out the door before Dumbledore called me back. I turned my head to look at him but didn't move back towards him.

"Miss Weasley," he said with a smile. This wasn't a smile to persuade me so I stayed to listen for a few more seconds. "Our current Defense Against the Dark Arts professor has taken a leave of absence so she can go study a new spell recently invented in Vancouver. In her place I have hired a vampire named Joshua. I thought I should inform you that he is arriving tonight. Good night, Miss Weasley."

I left quickly and made my way down to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Josh was waiting for me at the door. I ran into his hug.

"What're you doing here?" I asked happily.

"Dante sent me," he relied as he led me inside his office to the comfortable chairs.

At first I grumbled at the idea that Dante thought I needed a babysitter. I certainly hadn't needed one before break. Why did I need one now? Then I thought about what Dumbledore had just told me and I felt relief.

"Great," I said. "Could you tell Dante that Dumbledore just told me that he knows who I am and wants me to join the Order? Then ask him if there's anything I should tell Dumbledore the next time he tries."

"You haven't agreed to anything, right?" Josh asked carefully.

"Of course not. I just don't want to be floundering for words next time Dumbledore comes up to me."

"Just send him to me," Josh sighed. "I'm here as an ambassador of sorts as well as a teacher."

"Awesome!"

"Of course I am!" Josh smirked. "It's almost dawn. Go pretend to be a regular student for a while. Go read a book in bed for a while."

"Alright. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

III

Draco:

I woke up the next morning feeling better than I had in a while. The nap on the train with Ginny, a good dinner last night, and a full nights sleep had gone a long way towards making me feel more human. A hearty breakfast this morning would complete my health regeneration.

I had just dug into breakfast when Dumbledore called for everyone's attention.

"Students, I am sorry to announce that Professor Moore is not returning to Hogwarts this year. However, I would like to welcome our new teacher, Professor Joshua." Dumbledore gestured to the new face sitting at the staff table. The man smiled, showing his fangs to the students, and nodded hello.

While the other students were gasping in fear and awe, I was looking at Ginny. She looked ecstatic. I took this as a good sign and went back to my breakfast.

"He is a vampire," Dumbledore acknowledged. "However, I am positive that he will not harm anyone. Your safety is paramount and I have not compromised this by hiring him, never fear."

I suddenly found the new Professor's gaze on me, as if he were judging me. It wasn't a comfortable feeling, but I nodded politely at him anyway. I guess I should have expected this, considering my relationship with Ginny. This vampire must be high society or Ginny wouldn't know him so well. That meant that he probably knew that Ginny and I were close.

Things were certainly going to be interesting at Hogwarts from now on.


	9. Chapter Nine

Ashes to Ashes

Chapter Nine

By Mell8

-------------------

Draco:

The talk of the school was the new vampire Professor. I scoffed as I passed by groups of gossiping students on my way to and from classes. The general consensus was fear, but I found that sentiment usually vanished after one class with Josh.

The vampire smiled rather than scowled and the aura of fear everyone expected to feel from him was absent. He didn't smell of blood and he didn't attack anyone's throats. A kid had deliberately stabbed his finger with the tip of his quill in the fifth year Slytherin/Ravenclaw class and Josh had calmly cleaned the wound and sent the boy up to the Hospital Wing to get the ink removed from his finger, all without licking up any of the blood.

I had my own reservations, but that was more because of my relationship with Ginny than because of any fear. That was why I joined the rest of my peers in _tentatively_ stepping over the threshold of the classroom and gingerly taking our seats.

Even Granger, Weasley, and Potter were much more cautious than usual when they took their seats on the opposite side of the room from me.

"Welcome." Josh said as he stood from his desk with a smile and a flash of fangs. "Welcome to my seventh year NEWT level Defense Against the Dark Arts class. I understand that you have spent various years going over different spells, dangerous beasts, and various other Dark things that you need to defend against. This NEWT level class is supposed to teach you deeper meaning behind the Dark, including those spells and creatures you learned about before. I have gone over the notes left from your previous Professor and am glad to see that she had finished spells and curses and was going to begin creature studies."

He finally paused his speech and looked around the classroom to gauge his students' reactions to what he was saying.

"We are going to begin with the most dangerous of creatures, those that are sentient, human-like and human-thinking. Can anyone give an example of one?" he asked with another flash of his fangs. I sat at my desk and shook my head. In all my time of knowing Ginny, I had noticed that she never showed her pointed teeth unless she wanted to. Josh was clearly making a point, a point that I got. He was one of the most dangerous of sentient, human-like creatures. Vampires were originally humans after all and, unlike werewolves, their powers weren't constrained by the full moon.

I certainly didn't want to be the one who pointed out that our Professor was dangerous, not if I wanted to stay on Ginny's good side. It seemed that none of the other students were brave enough to put themselves forward and capture the vampire's attention either.

Finally Granger thrust her hand into the air.

"Miss Granger?" Josh asked with a smile that finally concealed rather than emphasized his teeth.

"Werewolves?" she asked.

Josh smiled. "Very good answer." He clearly knew about Professor Lupin, the werewolf Professor we had our third year. "Tell me what you know about werewolves."

Granger's hand went up again, but, now that the silence had been broken, other students were more willing to put their hands into the air. Josh called on a girl sitting in the back of the room.

"They eat people," she squeaked.

"I see," Josh looked thoughtful. "Anything else?"

"They turn into monsters under the full moon," the girl's boyfriend added from beside her, probably to make her feel better. I laughed inwardly at them. They deserved each other. Idiots, the both of them.

By now Granger's hand was making its usual insane dance through the air. Josh didn't have Snape's practice at ignoring her so called on her again.

"That's not true!" she snapped at the couple in the back. "Werewolves are humans who were bitten by another werewolf. On every other day of the month they are perfectly reasonable and rational people. On the full moon they can take Wolfsbane to hold off the madness. It is only the evil people who are bitten that become evil werewolves," she finished with another glare for the couple.

Josh clapped from the front of the room. "Well said. Twenty points to Gryffindor. What Miss Granger says is the truth. Open up your textbook to page four hundred sixty three and read what is written there!"

I pulled my textbook open and skimmed through the entry on werewolves. It was trash, the entire lot of it. "Dangerous uncontrollable beasts that should be hunted and killed on sight?" I murmured incredulously under my breath. Who came up with this rubbish?

"The entire entry on werewolves is false. In fact, just about every entry in this book about a sentient creature is grossly wrong. For your first assignment I want you and, if you would like, a partner or two to chose a creature in this book and write an essay on why the entry is wrong and what the true information is. In March you will be presenting this information to the class. This is your only large assignment for this class so I expect at least ten sheets of parchment and a presentation that will take up most of the class time."

I grimaced with the rest of the class, but on the inside I was elated. This was the perfect excuse I could use to learn more about vampires. I could finally get to those books in the Restricted Section of the library that I hadn't gotten to yet.

"You two in the back," Josh said, pointing to the couple that had answered his question about werewolves. "You are both researching werewolves. I expect you to be reformed on your bigoted views by the time of the presentation or you will fail my class. Miss Granger, I would like you to research a more difficult creature, perhaps a Nundu or an Occamy."

I snickered under my breath at that. She was clearly gearing up to research vampires and had just been shot down.

"Mr. Malfoy, stay after class," he snapped at me, but his look was another one of curiosity rather than anger at my laugh. "The rest of you have until the end of the month to come to me with the creature you will be researching.

The bell rang and everyone hurriedly gathered their things and made their way out of the room. I stayed in my seat and waited for the last person to leave before standing and joining Josh at his desk.

"I'm going to assume you wish to research vampires?" he asked.

"So I can understand Ginny better," I agreed.

Josh clamped his lips together tightly. "I am the one who taught her to fight," Josh said suddenly. "So I know she can kill you without any effort at all. Don't hurt her."

"Of course not," I said with a smirk. I had just gotten an evil idea and my smirk grew. "So, what class do you have next?"

"First year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs," Josh answered as he gathered his notes together. I smirked again and clapped a hand to the side of my neck as I wrenched the door open.

The little first years gazed up at me, their expressions going from curious to horrified as I collapsed against the wall and moaned piteously as my fingers on my neck were stained red and began to drip blood on the floor.

"Help," I whimpered. The first years screamed. Two fainted. One Gryffindor went dashing off up the stairs towards McGonagall's classroom.

I began to slide along the wall, eyes rolling, as Josh walked out of the room to see what the commotion was and McGonagall came rushing down the hall.

"Mr. Malfoy!" she snapped. "What is going on here?"

I smiled and stood up. My hand dropped to my side, clean and as unblemished as my neck. "Nothing Professor." I smiled winningly at her. "Can I help you?"

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in class?" she snapped again, trying to figure out what was going on as she glanced around at the frightened first years.

"His neck was bleeding," one of the Gryffindor's yelped. "I saw the blood coming from his neck and everything.

I bent my neck both ways to show that the kid was insane and that nothing had bitten me. "I have a free period right now and I was just speaking with Professor Joshua about my project," I answered her. "I have no idea what happened to the kids."

"Detention with me tonight, 8 o'clock," Josh snapped. "Now get out of here."

I laughed and left.

III

Ginny:

The entire day was filled with Professor Josh. I didn't envy the attention he must be getting and resolved to spend some time with him tonight so he could actually speak with someone who wasn't either fawning over him or scared as hell to be around him.

The general consensus by the girls in my dorm room was that he was hot but dangerous, something that made them drool horribly.

I was of the opinion that the girls were idiots so, when they started a third round of "hot-but-dangerous" giggling, I left. Classes had just ended for the day and all I had wanted to do was put my books away and relax in bed for a while. Instead I was now walking angrily through the hallways.

Josh hadn't singled me out in class today, something I was afraid he might do just to get the telling the humans about me over with. Instead he had assigned me vampires with a look that said that my project had better be more in depth than anyone else's. I already knew all the information most of the students would ever need to know about vampires. Josh wanted me to delve deeper. I just wanted to finish the year without killing anyone.

Dinner was soon, and I was hungry, but not for food. My stomach was beginning to churn after blood. The craving wasn't desperate yet, but maybe when I visited Josh tonight we could go hunting.

I sat down at the Gryffindor table before dinner was served and waited patiently for the rest of the students to make their way to the Great Hall. Draco walked in a few minutes later, caught my eyes with his, and smiled. I smiled back.

Maybe instead of going hunting with Josh tonight I could find Draco and get a drink of his blood.

Dinner passed and around eight that night I gave up on my homework and told anyone who was listening, which meant no one because everyone was immersed in their own homework, that I was going for a walk.

Josh's office was attached to the classroom and I could feel him there, waiting for someone. I turned down the hallway and paused when I saw a large group standing outside Josh's office, speaking quietly to each other.

"He's a vampire. All you have to do is sneak in and stake him!"

"But what if he kills me?"

"We're sneaking. He won't even notice us, not with our wands."

I growled. How dare they attack Josh?

"Why're we doing this again?"

"Because he'll kill us all in our sleep! Did you hear about what he did to Malfoy earlier?"

"Malfoy was just pulling our leg."

"That's what the vamp wants us to think!"

I had seen Draco during dinner and knew he wasn't injured. I was more worried about these kids hurting my teacher and friend. I moved forward to stop them when a hand shot out of the dark and pulled me into a covered alcove.

-----------------

A.N. Sorry for the wait. This fic had a design pause that I had to work through. It's at a downtime in the story, if you can't tell by the lack of any action. Instead I'm trying to move the plot along so I don't get bogged down, but that's much more difficult than you'd think. Anyway, I'm working hard and I hope to have the next bit out soon!

Thanks to all the reviewers. I haven't forgotten about this story, as you can see, and I will continue updating as long as there is still more to write.

You should all check out my fic challenge in my profile!


	10. Chapter Ten

Ashes to Ashes

Chapter Ten

By Mell8

-----------------------

Ginny:

"Don't," Draco's voice hissed into my ear. "You'll give yourself away if you do."

"But Josh," I whispered back. "He's going to be attacked."

Draco turned me around to look at him before he spoke again. "Didn't Josh teach you how to fight?" Draco asked with a curious expression on his face.

"Well, yeah," I answered. I already knew that Josh was one of the best fighters Dante had.

"So then I'm sure he's more than prepared to handle a few idiot kids," Draco finished with a serious tilt to his head that accidentally emphasized his neck and the vein underneath.

He caught where my gaze had focused and laughed. His hand went out to stroke my hair away from my face as he tilted his neck towards my mouth.

"Hungry?" he asked.

"A little," I admitted. I didn't want to take blood from him. Okay, I did, but it just felt awkward. His blood was powerful and every sip ignited something inside of me. I wasn't sure if I wanted him to see me like that. I enjoyed our friendship and I didn't want to ruin it by hurting him or by letting him know just what his blood did to me.

"So drink," Draco whispered as he led my mouth to the throbbing vein just under his skin.

I couldn't resist. His blood smelled so powerful and it was being offered to me freely. My mouth opened and my fangs pierced his skin with deceptive ease.

The blood flowed strong and wonderful under my lips and down my throat. This wasn't just blood from his wrist that had already traveled from the heart, through the lungs, and down the arm. This was blood straight from the heart and heading up to the brain. This was blood rich in oxygen and powerful in intent.

I moaned low in my throat as the blood reached my stomach and began flowing into my body. I couldn't help molding myself to Draco's front with my hands around his head and neck, keeping him right where the blood flowed best.

This was the true elixir of life.

"You're going to kill him if you take much more," a voice snapped, pulling me from my euphoria.

A hand went around my lower jaw and pinched at the joint. My mouth was forced open and my fangs were gently pulled from Draco's neck.

My brain heard the words and understood, but the blood was so good that my body didn't want to move away. I fought against myself to let the hands freeing me from Draco do their job.

Finally I was away from the blood and reason started to filter back.

"Draco?" I moaned.

"He's fine," Josh's voice said from above me. "I've stopped the bleeding. Come into my office so we can talk."

I shook myself free from the trance of blood that I had been in and quickly followed Josh, who was holding a nearly unconscious Draco. I carefully stepped around and over the unconscious students lying in front of the office door, stakes carefully broken by their empty hands.

Josh gently laid Draco down on his desk and sighed.

"Ginny, haven't you learned anything?" he snapped. "You could have killed him!"

I heard the reprimand and knew that Josh didn't understand. Draco's blood wasn't like everyone else's. I couldn't control myself with that power in my mouth.

"His blood calls to me," I snapped back. "I could control myself when I took from his wrist; I thought I'd be okay with the neck."

"His blood calls to you," Josh said, but this time his tone was different.

"Yes," I replied. "It's so strong, powerful, and it makes me forget anything except the blood."

Josh nodded to himself. "Then you can heal him."

"How?" I said eagerly. If I could help Draco after hurting him just for offering me some blood, then I wouldn't feel so badly about this.

"Give him some of your blood," Josh said.

"But I don't want to turn him!" I gasped. The give and take of blood was how a vampire was made and I certainly didn't want Draco to join me. He had too many other problems to deal with right now.

"Turning requires both intent and complete blood loss. Draco is only weak, not dying," Josh explained.

"So?" I asked. "How would my blood help him?"

"There is one person in the entire world whose blood calls to each vampire. You have found yours. This creates a special relationship between blood donor and vampire. The vampire takes the more powerful blood and becomes stronger. In return the vampire gives some of this stronger blood back, which makes the donor stronger and healthier. Draco would instantly feel better and be completely recovered from his blood loss."

"What's the downside?" I asked. "So far it just sounds like I get more power and Draco doesn't feel ill."

"Draco's life will be tied to yours. From the first taste of his blood returning from your veins he will join you in immortality. However, if more than a month goes by without this exchange, he will begin to age rapidly until his death."

"I couldn't do that to Draco!" I gasped. I would like to spend the rest of my life with him, yes. He was handsome and a great friend. He was someone I got along with very well and I did love him.

I had never thought about it before, but it wasn't just his blood that drew me to Draco. If his personality had been abhorrent then I could have foregone his blood. But Draco was someone who I understood and who understood me in return. He had pledged himself to my protection and I enjoyed having him at my side.

"You would leave him weak like this?" Josh asked incredulously.

I looked down at Draco and grimace. His face looked pale and weak from the blood loss and he lay limply, like he was dead. Could I leave him like this?

"It's his choice," I said resolutely. "I wouldn't want to tie Draco to me for eternity if he hated me."

"Ginny," Draco whispered softly. His hand shakily rose into the air and clasped my own hand. "I want you forever. If you'll have me?" he laughed.

"Are you sure?" I asked as I held his hand and bent over to see his earnest face.

"Absolutely," Draco said calmly.

"There is no turning back," Josh warned.

Draco just smiled. "Do it."

I reached for the vein on my neck with my free hand and sliced open a small cut with a nail. I bent over Draco and hissed in pleasure as his mouth latched on and began to suck.

It was wonderful. The pull of blood felt just as good as when I had taken it in the first place. I collapsed on top of Draco with a groan and let his arms circle around my back and pull me closer to his body.

"Alright, kids!" Josh said, exasperated. "If you let him take too much, Ginny, you'll have the opposite problem."

I forced myself to draw away from Draco and caught his eyes with mine. The intensity in his grey orbs let me know that everything he had told me about his feelings were barely a mere tip of the iceberg. He loved me too.

III

Draco:

I felt wonderful. Heck, I felt more than wonderful. I felt as if I could jump out of the Astronomy Tower and fly. I felt like I could jump in the air and touch the rafters and the enchanted ceiling in the Great Hall.

I felt wonderful and I knew that it was a deceptive strength. I could definitely lift heavier things, just as I could run faster, but I knew that if I jumped from the Tower I would plummet and if I tried for the ceiling in the Great Hall I would just look like a fool.

Ginny's blood had done this to me. Ginny's love had done this to me.

She had cut her own neck with a fingernail and bent over my prone and weakened body. Her blood had dripped across my lips and down my throat. And I had tasted the sweetest ambrosia.

Her blood was strong and powerful, much like she described mine to be to her. But her blood also contained her emotions. As I sucked on her neck and drank her blood, I felt her arousal, her anxiety, and, most importantly, I felt her love.

I wondered when I had started to love her, rather than just find her to be a good friend. Was it when we first met outside the Gryffindor Portrait Hole and we became tentative friends? Or was it when we took that bath together and all I could think about was how pretty she was and how disappointed I was that there were so many bubbles?

Could it be at the dance, when she looked so radiant in her ball gown and so graceful as she swayed to the waltz, when I had defended her from Potter and met her Sire, Dante, and when I promised to myself that I would protect her, even from Voldemort?

Ginny had taken my blood and I had taken hers. We were tied together in the most ancient of bonds, and I was happy.

"Draco Malfoy," Josh called from the front of the classroom. "Are you paying any attention to my lecture?"

"Of course, Professor," I answered with an inward wince at my lie.

"Really?" Josh sounded surprised. "Very well, tell me which Dark plant I was just describing."

"Umm," I answered. I had no clue.

"Stay after class, Mr. Malfoy," Josh said with a sigh.

He turned back to the class and continued talking about the Venemous Tentacula. I sighed and went back to my musings. Professor Josh just wanted another excuse to speak with me again.

After class I walked up to his desk and waited while the rest of the students filed out of the door.

"Draco," Josh said carefully. "I didn't get a chance to speak with you about Ginny the other day, so listen closely now."

I turned all my focus on Josh and waited with bated breath for him to collect his thoughts. Josh leaned back in his desk chair and sighed.

"If you know anything about the Upper Class of Vampires, the High Society, you will know that our ruler is never a female. For hundreds of thousands of years the leader of the vampires has been a male of quite a bit of power."

"But Ginny-" I gasped. Ginny was a girl and she was supposed to become the next ruler of the vampires. Why was Dante breaking tradition like this?

"Yes, she surprised all of us. Dante was out for a walk and found her just a few feet from his front door. He took her blood and was going to leave her there, but then she spoke to him in his mind.

" "I don't want to die," she whispered without using her voice at all. "Please, change me into what you are. Change me into a vampire." " Josh laughed.

"Dante is extraordinarily powerful, but he had never experienced anything like her. He would have left her there, he had heard of Legilimency and knew she was a witch, but one of the powers the leader of vampires inherits with the position is prescience. As Dante started to walk away he saw a vision of Ginny, beautiful and deadly and saving all of vampire-kind. He knew he didn't have a choice."

"So he changed her," I nodded in understanding. "And you're here to watch over her."

"No, I'm not," Josh shook his head. "Ginny hasn't shown any other signs of mental powers. She doesn't seem to have any powers beyond those Dante's Childe would inherit. You, however, have caught Dante's attention.

"I am here," Josh said with a grim smile, "to whip you into shape, Blood Childe."


	11. Chapter Eleven

Ashes to Ashes

Chapter Eleven

By Mell8

-----------------

Ginny:

Draco had vanished. Well, not really. He was always around, but I certainly hadn't spoken with him in a week. He had taken my blood and then Josh had sent Draco to bed and had kept me after to explain just how important it was for Draco to have regular infusions of my blood. Since that night I hadn't seen Draco except across the Great Hall during meals.

I didn't feel like Draco was purposefully avoiding me. Still, I couldn't help feeling that he regretted our bond.

I could still feel his powerful blood working its way through my system. Josh had said that when Draco's blood was beginning to wane in my veins, my blood would be waning in his. When this happened, Draco would begin feeling weak and not long after he would start the aging process that would kill him.

I had weeks before I absolutely needed to see Draco again, but I wanted to see him right now.

I saw him leaving the Great Hall after dinner that night so I quickly made my excuses and followed him out.

"Draco," another voice called ahead of me. I rounded the corner and saw Draco's old girlfriend, Daphne Greengrass, standing in front of Draco with her hands on her ample hips.

Daphne was wearing a low cut shirt that emphasized her generous breasts and slim figure. Her long, luxurious brown hair was tied back in an artful curl that framed her heart shaped face. Her only poor feature was her crooked nose, but if I were being charitable, I'd say that hers was a button of a crook.

I looked down at my robes and sighed. Dante had bought me new ones that fit correctly, but my breasts were much smaller than Daphne's. I was thin. Having a diet of only blood was conducive towards very little excess fat. Still, my hips weren't wide and my hair was a mess.

Draco had Daphne to look at and be with. All he got from me was my blood.

I turned to leave them alone.

"Draco, where have you been?" Daphne was asking as I left.

"I've been busy, Greengrass," Draco snapped. "What do you want?"

"I thought you might was to hang out," she simpered. I could hear the lust oozing from her voice.

"No thanks," Draco said with a shake of his head. "My girlfriend wouldn't like it."

I froze in place. His girlfriend? Could he mean me?

"Your girlfriend?" Daphne asked incredulously. "You're full of shit, Draco Malfoy," she snarled. "Don't you dare lie to me!"

"I don't even care to be speaking with you. Why would I bother lying to you too?" Draco asked coldly.

Daphne sniffed and slapped Draco across the highest place her slight frame could reach, his chest, before spinning on her heel and sashaying down the corridor and out of sight. I poked my head around the corner and watched Daphne's well shaped behind twitch as she huffed away.

Once Daphne was gone, I turned my attention to Draco just in time to see him wince and gently rub at the place where he had been hit.

I gasped in alarm. Was Draco weakening already? Were his bones aging? Did he need my blood?

I rushed forward to check.

"Ginny!" Draco gasped as a smile bloomed on his face. "I'm so sorry I haven't seen you. I've been so busy-" He stopped talking as soon as he realized I wasn't listening to his excuses.

I pushed his shirt up to his neck and gasped. His entire torso was covered with a large, angry purple bruise. I looked at the bruise, then at Draco's sheepish face, and let out a giggle.

"You're supposed to duck," I laughed out. I remembered this lesson of Josh's very well. Admittedly, my bruises healed much faster than Draco's did, but the lesson still stuck. If something was coming at you at a high speed, hit the ground. Otherwise you're liable to get something painful to the face, chest, or even legs if Josh was in a particularly vindictive mood.

"Ducking is a new concept, apparently," Draco grumbled as he pulled his shirt down.

"Why are you training with Josh anyway?" I asked curiously.

Draco looked to the side and I saw a slight blush tint his cheeks. "Josh thinks I'm something important. He wouldn't really explain it."

"Important how?"

"He called me a Blood Childe," Draco shrugged.

"Well, I'm a Childe and we share blood…" I mused.

"Either way," Draco grumbled as he led the way to a hallway filled with abandoned classrooms and dust. "Because of it I'm getting beaten up and knocked down, and all this other fun stuff.

"Let me heal you," I said softly as I followed Draco into an empty classroom.

"Could you?" Draco whimpered. "I hurt." He pouted like a child before grinning at me.

"Ginny," he went on softly. "I really just want to spend time with you. It's just with all my homework and training with Josh it just seems that there isn't enough time."

"We're making time now!" I said happily as I settled onto a desk next to Draco.

I was elated. Yes, Draco had asked for blood, but his main goal was to be with me. He wanted me for more than just the power I could give him and that made me very happy.

We talked late into the night about everything. Draco told me about his family, particularly his father, and about how he was forced into working for Voldemort. His home life had been good before the Dark Lord returned. Since then his father had gone on a rampage, forcing both Draco and Narcissa to obey and serve.

I had already known Draco didn't like what his father was doing from seeing him at the ball and then seeing what had been done to him before he returned to school. But knowing about it was much different than hearing it first hand.

I told Draco about the night I had been changed. It had been stupid to go wandering so far from home in the middle of the night, but I like what I am now and didn't regret it.

By the time we ran out of things to tell each other about, Draco was yawning and I was ready to lie down for a while.

Draco was about to stand up and leave, but I brushed my hair off my neck with a questioning look in my eyes. Did he want my blood or not? I wouldn't mind a sip of his.

"Not from the neck," Draco said with a grin. "We couldn't stop last time."

"Oh yeah," I grumbled sheepishly. I held up my wrist as Draco held up his own. I carefully sliced my wrist with a sharp fingernail as Draco brought his wrist up to my mouth.

I bit just as Draco started to suck.

The combined feelings of Draco's powerful blood filling my mouth and Draco's soft mouth pulling my blood from my vein sent my mind and body overboard. It felt so good and I whimpered as I forced both my mouth and wrist away from Draco.

"So good," Draco whispered as he drew back from my wrist. His lips were stained red and he licked them experimentally. He looked at me and laughed before bending forward and licking off a dribble of his blood that had fallen through the corner of my mouth.

Then he kissed me.

Draco's kiss was better than his blood. His lips were strong and soft against mine, and the electric feeling of this new connection sent my knees shaking and my body falling against Draco's.

He pulled away, gasping for breath.

"Draco," I breathed.

"Ginny," he smiled back.

"You're out past curfew," a new voice interrupted.

I looked up and sighed. "Hi Josh."

Josh shook his head at us. "When I heard you were both out alone, I got worried that you were draining each other again."

"This is a different type of drain," Draco said with a salacious grin.

"I'm sure," Josh sniffed. "But you, Mr. Malfoy, have an early morning meeting with me so you should have been in bed hours ago."

"Alright," Draco sighed. He smiled at me and brushed his lips against mine one last time before he left the room.

Josh waited until Draco was completely gone before he turned to glare at me.

"You have to be careful!" he snapped. "Just because he has some of your blood in him, doesn't make him indestructible."

"No," I said softly. "But it does give him a new title, Blood Childe." I looked at Josh curiously, waiting for him to answer. He just smirked.

"Go rest in bed for the remainder of the night," Josh finally said.

He ruffled my hair as I walked past him. I scowled at him, but let it go. I really did want a rest. Draco's blood made me feel stronger, but I wanted to let it go throughout my body unimpeded, and that meant rest.

III

Josh watched Ginevra walk out of the room and couldn't keep the frown off his face.

She didn't know or understand. She was assuming that Blood Childe meant that Draco was simply a person who was taking the blood of the Childe of the leader of the vampires. She didn't have the knowledge or training to even theorize beyond that.

Josh would have to write to Dante to ask for more vampire reference material for both Ginny and Draco to study. It really wouldn't do to have such an ignorant person rule the vampires for the next few thousand years.

Being a Blood Childe made Draco special, but it wasn't exactly in a good way. Yes, the Blood Childe took blood and gave it. But he also had to protect his source of the blood because if Ginny died, Draco would too. Only, Draco would die painfully. To avoid that, Draco would have to protect Ginny at all costs, even chancing his own life at times.

The Blood Childe was the sacrificial lamb for Ginny. He would step into danger to protect her. He would die so Ginny could live. Draco would bleed his blood to protect the Childe; Blood Childe.

That was why Josh didn't like seeing them so emotionally attached. Sharing blood happened a lot more than Ginny thought. Sharing kisses between donor and doneree only meant that when Draco was killed, Ginny would probably do something drastic in return.

Dante would not be amused to hear this revelation.

Josh sighed and sat down on a nearby desk as Dumbledore walked into the room. Dante was weakening. It was part of taking on the role of leading the vampires. When your time to rule had passed, you weakened until you were killed by your Childe or by another upcoming vampire, or you handed over the reins of power and lived the rest of eternity as a subject of the new ruler.

It was why Dante had created a Childe in these difficult times. There was no one else to pass the leadership to and Dante had wanted to ensure that even when he was gone, the vampires would not fall to evil again.

Ginny had been the answer at the time and with her Blood Childe protecting her, she might have a chance.

Still, Dumbledore didn't know any of this and the weekly meetings he insisted upon with Josh were getting annoying.

"Has your master's answer changed?" Dumbledore asked as soon as he saw that Josh's attention was on him.

"My master's answer lies with the Childe," Josh replied. "She is not ready, so Dante is not ready to make a decision."

"Very well," Dumbledore sighed. "But the war is growing in amplitude while Ginevra pretends to be a regular school girl. You were brought here for a reason. Isn't it time?"

"Soon," Josh grinned. "There has been a complication with what Draco is going to be in her life. As soon as that is sorted out, I will begin."

Dumbledore nodded and walked back to the door. "Do not tarry," he said as he walked away from Josh. "There is less time than even I hoped for."

Josh sighed and nodded at Dumbledore's back as the old man walked sadly away.

A.N.

I have to ask, what do you think of the budding relationship between Draco and Ginny. Is it too sudden? Is it too much? Did you understand the Blood Childe explaination?

Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate all the encouragement.

Mell8


	12. Chapter Twelve

Ashes to Ashes

Chapter Twelve

By Mell8

------------------

Harry wandered down the hallway, lost in thought. He had known something odd was going on ever since the vampire ball. Ginny had been at the ball and she had been completely secure with the surrounding vampires and the werewolf prince. Harry had been a nervous wreck the entire night, just waiting for a vampire to get too friendly and take his blood.

Ginny had danced with Malfoy that night, another oddity that Harry remembered. A Weasley would never willingly put herself into the arms of a Malfoy; it was against everything Ginny had ever been taught by her father. Yet she had danced with Malfoy and had seemed to enjoy it. Harry didn't think she had enjoyed dancing in his arms. So why was Malfoy okay?

But the oddest thing about the entire night was Dumbledore's reaction to it. Dumbledore had questioned Harry thoroughly about the night and Harry had answered honestly, and then Dumbledore had never brought up the subject again. The Headmaster no longer asked Harry, Ron, and Hermione to search the school for the Childe. Rather, it seemed as if Dumbledore were avoiding the issue purposefully whenever Harry brought it up again.

Although his grades may not prove it, Harry knew he wasn't a fool. He wasn't as smart as Hermione, but Harry could still tell that this sudden change of heart meant that Dumbledore had figured out the mystery and was hiding the answer from Harry.

Harry thought back on the conversation between him and Dumbledore that night. Harry had outlined every occurrence at the ball, from the Master's entrance to Draco Malfoy being the representative of the Death Eaters. Anything Harry had said could have tipped Dumbledore off. Yet, for some reason, Harry didn't think the answer came from that part of the conversation.

Harry thought that his offhand mention of Ginny being at the ball had been the clue Dumbledore had needed. So, the question remained, what did Ginny have to do with the vampires and why had Harry's mention of her presence at the ball given Dumbledore the answer the old Headmaster was searching for? Harry wanted to find out.

For the next several days, Harry tried to follow Ginny around to figure out what was going on. Only, this proved more difficult than he originally thought it would. By the time Harry got out of his classes and got to where Ginny was getting out of her class, she had vanished and would often stay vanished until well after curfew.

He tried watching her on the Marauders Map, but the castle was so large that by the time he found her on the map she would be leaving wherever she had been, and she was never in the same spot. The only time he could easily find her on the map was when she was with Professor Josh, the vampire, and that was often also in the company of Malfoy. When Harry had asked Hermione about it, she had shrugged it off saying that both Malfoy and Ginny had gotten the Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment on vampires and were probably using Josh as their reference material.

But Harry was getting suspicious. What if…but that was impossible. They would have noticed if Ginny had become a vampire. She went out in the sun all the time, but then, so did Josh, so maybe there were some vampires who were unaffected by the sun.

Harry thought back to all of his conversations with Ginny and he couldn't pinpoint a time when she had changed. All he knew was that she didn't talk with him any longer and he couldn't figure out when or why that distance had formed.

As the weeks passed, Harry became positive that Ginny had something to do with the vampires; that she and Draco Malfoy had something to do with the vampires. There was no reason why they spent so much time with the vampire representative in this school. They would have gotten all the information they needed for their assignments by now.

And Harry couldn't help wondering about Ginny. What if little, innocent Ginny Weasley was the Childe?

Weeks passed and Ginny continued to be scarce. She would show up for classes and vanish. None of her roommates had spoken with her in weeks and Harry hadn't seen her in nearly as long, yet, according to the map, Draco Malfoy seemed to be at her side constantly.

Harry worried. Was Ginny being pulled in the wrong direction, in the direction of the Dark Lord? Was Draco Malfoy, junior Death Eater, drawing Ginny away from her family and friends in order to corrupt her?

And…if Ginny was the Childe, was Malfoy pulling all the vampires to the Dark side of war?

It was late February when Harry finally made a decision. He had unsuccessfully been tracking Ginny for weeks and knew that he had to talk with Dumbledore about his suspicions. Maybe the old man didn't know the truth and was only protecting Harry by refusing to allow Harry to continue to search for the Childe.

Harry walked along the hallways to the Headmaster's office, hoping that Dumbledore would be in and available to assuage Harry's fears. Maybe he was just jumping to conclusions. Ginny was merely working on an extra credit project and Malfoy was being forced to help her out. Maybe the Childe was attending Durmstrang and all those victims of anemia were part of a cruel spell cooked up by the Slytherins.

In fact, as Harry walked along the hallway he began to wonder if all his concerns were baseless. Should he be bothering Dumbledore with such childish musings when the Headmaster had so much more important matters on his mind?

Harry sighed to himself and turned to take the long way to the Headmasters office. He needed the time to think before he bothered Dumbledore and hopefully the longer walk would give him that.

Harry turned another corner and froze when he heard a long female moan echo out of a side passage. He would have kept going, ignoring the couple having their bit of fun, but he thought he recognized that voice. Could he have accidentally stumbled upon Malfoy and Ginny? Would he now have the answer he needed before heading off to speak with Dumbledore?

Harry quietly and carefully poked his head around the corner and waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkened hallway. What he saw forced him to bite his tongue to keep from making any noise as he quickly backed out of the passage, down the hallway, and back to the main corridors of the castle.

Draco Malfoy had been pressing Ginny Weasley against a wall in an intimate embrace that would have shocked Harry regardless. But the truly horrific thing he had seen was Malfoy's mouth latched around Ginny's bleeding wrist, sucking up every drop.

Ginny wasn't the Childe, Malfoy was. Harry hurried towards Dumbledore's office, secure in the fact that he definitely had something of import to tell the Headmaster. He had to rescue Ginny from Malfoy and the Headmaster was the best way to get that goal accomplished.

III

Draco:

Ginny and I were approaching Dumbledore's office and I really wished I knew what the Headmaster wanted with us. Josh had told us to go there right after our last fighting lesson with him. There had been a pit stop on the way to enjoy a little blood, but we were still on time.

The gargoyle that hid the entrance to the Headmaster's office was waiting open for us so we didn't stop. Ginny's hand was in mine as the moving staircase took us up to the main office.

Josh was waiting for us at the top, a scowl on his face that hadn't been there fifteen minutes ago when we had parted ways at his office.

"You are idiots," Josh snapped. "Try to find a place to bite each other where others can't find you, next time."

"Who saw us?" Ginny asked, worried that our secret might be out.

Josh grimaced. "Go on up to the office and see."

Just inside the main door was Harry Potter, who promptly shut his mouth with a snap when Ginny and I stepped in. I couldn't keep myself from swearing and I could feel Ginny stiffening in fear beside me.

"Welcome, welcome," Dumbledore said with a smile. I could sense some strain in the Headmaster's face and knew that Potter was not supposed to have been involved with the vampires. Still, I knew Potter from our many battles throughout the years and I knew that if Potter had found Ginny and I around that corner in a little used part of the castle, then it was only because the idiot boy had been looking. Potter had uncanny luck with finding out things he wasn't supposed to know by sheer happenstance.

"As you can see," Dumbledore continued, "we have a new member our your little conspiracy."

"I would hardly call it a conspiracy, Dumbledore," Josh said cuttingly. "More like a staging ground."

"For the vampires?" Potter gasped. "Why are vampires allowed in Hogwarts, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore sighed and gestured for everyone to take a seat. He waited until everyone was settled before speaking.

"As you know, Harry, the goal of the Order in regards to the vampires was to bring their power to our side of the war. An agreement was made upon speaking with Josh, the representative the leader of the vampires, Dante. Hogwarts would be a safe haven for the Childe. She needed a place of safety to grow into her powers, a place Dante could not offer her."

"That's why he went to France," Ginny breathed.

"Yeah," Josh sighed. "The vampires know that his health is failing and Dante is scrambling to stay in power long enough for you to take the throne. He's also trying to keep you safe so that you are alive to take over."

"Wait," Potter interjected. "Ginny is the vampire? But I saw Malfoy drinking blood!"

They ignored Harry. He didn't need to know about Blood Children as well as current vampire politics.

"But I'm trained," Ginny said sharply. "I can take care of myself now."

Josh nodded. "You can, and that's why I brought you both here today. Headmaster," Josh said as he turned to look at Dumbledore. "It is time."

"Very well," Dumbledore said, suddenly looking tired and old. "Then it is a good coincidence that Harry is here right now. Pass on the message, Harry. The war is starting in earnest now. We are finally prepared to answer Voldemort's violence."

III

A.N. I'm flying by the seat of my pants with this story. Honest truth. I have no idea where I'm going with this. I ran out of my planned plot last chapter and have been desperately trying to discover which direction this story is heading in while writing this chapter. This is the big transition from Hogwarts to the rest of the world and I have no definite plans as to where I want my story to go. For anyone who writes, you will know that this can be very dangerous. I feel right in going slowly and taking my time, particularly since my muse is apparently unable to help me formulate the next section of this story. I anyone has a good idea feel free to send it in a review.

I hope that you will all forgive my long breaks between updates. I am busy and have no free time for writing. I'm doing my best, honest.

Mell


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